Metal Gear Shadow
by Mr. Gruntsworthy
Summary: Post MGS2. Snake is forced to team up with two Recruits to find and eliminate a British Metal Gear! Please Read! I need Reviews! Chapter 17: Looks like Lynn and crew are going to get quite the welcome party... the saga continues!
1. Chapter 1

**Metal Gear Shadow**

Note From Author: The usual disclaimers—I do not own, in any part or whole, any characters, work, or otherwise of Metal Gear, Konami, or anything related. This work was done without their permission, and is not considered to be part of the real storyline.

Takes place post-MGS2 but pre-MGS4. That aside, the first chapter is mainly character introduction – I hope you like the characters I introduce. Have fun reading! 

-- Mr. Gruntsworthy

**Chapter 1: Coincidence**

Recruit Janice Lynn was eighteen years old, and freshly inducted into the Army; specifically a base in Manhattan. She stood there, at ease, with hundreds of other raw recruits, waiting for their first orders as real soldiers. Some were absent-mindedly fiddling with their tunic, some straightening their berets, some just plain fidgety. Lynn could tell with one look that none of these kids were ready for real combat yet, and she knew that it would be a while before she'd get to see some action and do something for her country.

Lynn knew she didn't belong with the recruits, but she had to put up with it before she got promoted up the ranks.

Having a Special Ops/Combat Specialist for a father really helped her out in life. Though only eighteen, Lynn was confident she was the most highly trained person in the whole facility. Including Officers. While she was learning to talk and walk, she was learning to stalk. Trained in every aspect of war, her father, Warrant Officer Peterson Lynn, taught her every thing he knew. Survival techniques, several forms of hand-to-hand combat, weapons training, stealth, all of it. She had often heard the few people who knew about her background muttering about 'creating a monster' and 'ruining her life,' but she never wanted the trivialities of a woman's childhood anyway. While most girls at age five were playing with Barbies, she was disassembling and cleaning a Beretta M9. Combat, killing, and fighting were the replacements for English, Math, and Science.

Not that Warrant Officer Lynn had left that part out, either. One of her father's mottos was 'your brain can sometimes be more deadly a weapon than your pistol.' She believed him. So when she wasn't defeating black belt Karate masters or researching the latest armaments of foot troops, she was studying high-end math equations and formulas.

Perhaps it's because of her past that it was better off that no one really knew her except her father and a select few trainers and military experts. She kept her skills and strength in check during the Academy, lest she be given away and too much attention drawn to her. Even with all the holding back, she still flew through the Academy like it was kindergarten. Not like she'd ever been to kindergarten.

Lynn had seen and heard many things since she was born and heaved into training, but there was one conversation she overheard her father having with a Krav Maga master.

"Training your daughter to become a killer from birth? I wouldn't do that to anyone, let alone my _own daughter!_" the Krav Maga master had said. "She could've grown up to be someone important or famous! But you ruin her and turn her into some kind of freak! A monster! Your daughter will always be an outcast from society! She will die a lonely death on the battlefield _because of you!_"

Her father had kept silent.

Because of that, she had some understanding of why she was the way she was. Why the first thing she thought of when looking at a stranger wasn't 'he smells and his clothes are weird,' but instead 'is he a threat? Where could he be hiding weapons?' Lynn even looked different. She had a noticeable build, very small breasts, and short, unruly black hair. She always had a cold expression on her face; brows always furrowed, mouth always cocked into a permanent frown.

Lynn didn't curse her father, as everyone thought she would. To be honest, he was just another one of the trainers to her. Someone who furthered her skills. A comrade. She had deduced that it was probably because she was incapable of feeling anything at all. Even when she was left to survive in the Amazon for three weeks at the age of seven, she was crystal calm. Another by-product of her father's experimentation of raising child soldiers.

Child soldiers were just drugged, given an AK, and told to fight against their will.

Lynn could snap someone's neck by pure reflex, without even thinking about it.

Lynn's mind cleared swiftly as the Drill Sergeant marched out to the front of the ranks.

"A-Ten-HUT!"

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A man, simply known by the name Snake, or David to the few who knew his real name, sat on the tattered rag that served as a couch in Philanthropy HQ – also known as apartment 231.

Because Philanthropy was a 'non-profit organization,' that meant destroying the nuclear walking tanks that seemed to rise up from every weapons company was rewarded with no cash. So they had to live in a Manhattan housing apartment building, complete with mice. Otacon had managed to grab a part time job at a local software company, so income wasn't totally nil. Bills were barely paid, and Snake was forced to – he shuddered at the thought of it – gather tobacco from cigarette butts.

"Snake, I can't concentrate with you smoking. It's bothering my nose," Otacon said from the dull red desk chair. Snake gave him a cold look, Otacon's head contrasting against the blue monitor that sat on a cheap wooden desk.

"How often do you have to be told that smoking is bad for you're your health?" Otacon picked. He took off his glasses to wipe them with his shirt.

"I keep telling you they're my 'good luck charm,' Snake replied in his raspy voice. Otacon returned the cold look and went back to typing on his computer.

_That damn computer must be worth more than this building,_ Snake thought to himself. Otacon had managed to muster up a powerful machine to aid them in their war against Metal Gears. _And it runs on Dial-up. Go figure. _

"What are you looking at, anyways?" Snake asked, tapping his cigarette and watching the flaky ashes drift into the nearby ashtray.

"The usual rumor checking," Otacon replied. "Several whispers of different versions of Metal Gear are always floating around on the Web. While you sit around and smoke, I have to sift through them and eliminate them. They're all just rumors, though."

"Then why do you research them?" Snake asked bluntly.

"You never know when there might be a truth hidden in the lies of the truth," Otacon responded.

"Uhm, yeah…." Snake answered, scratching underneath his bandanna, "I'm just going to have to trust you on that one."

-------------------------------------

After the initial barrage of first-day welcoming drills had echoed their way between the rows of Recruits, they were dismissed to go get settled in their barracks, which were essentially small units with enough room for a bunkbed, storage space for clothes and uniforms, a personal cupboard, and a small 'room' where a toilet and sink faced each other across a foot of desolate wood tiling.

Lynn took special note of the bunk beds, which played against the solitary confinement that she wanted. Unwanted socializing was going to be a problem if her 'bunkmate' was anything less than a stellar example.

Not one for wasting time, Lynn snapped open her suitcase, which had been pre-delivered. Her suitcase was bare except for a few changes of uniform, some complex math textbooks, and of course all the other standard stuff the military requires be taken to a training base, as well as hygienic equipment.

It didn't take long to get settled in, and as the rooms other occupant hadn't arrived yet, Lynn started to do some one-arm push ups.

'The Shiny Penguin' was a normal restaurant, much like any other found in the city of Manhattan, that served breakfast all day. Patrons observing the scene would see the many white-garnished tables that lined the walls and occupied the floors, while many orders were hurried about to their respective buyers. Weekdays were not as busy as the weekends, but still one would shy away from the Penguin at dinnertime, the most busy part of the day.

Many men came to and from the entrance at the other end of the restaurant, but the man in the brown wool suit who had chosen to take advantage of the 'breakfast all day' was waiting for one specific person. One who could quite possibly increase his financial position dearly.

Though, the brown suit man was slightly ticked off at the fact that he didn't know what this person looked like. He was paying attention to anything suspicious that would give the person away before they even found the specific table he was sitting at.

_Let's see… Forty-something with graying hair and a business attitude…Oh, no, he's got two kids with him, _Brown Suit thought as a man came in through the door, followed by two young children, no older than six. _Can't be him…_

Brown Suit lowered his head as he took a bite of French toast, and looked down for a second as he paused to wipe off syrup that had managed to slip it's way out of the corner of his mouth and down his brown mustache.

When he looked up, he did a double take. There was a woman sitting on the other side of the table, in a very poised fashion, looking coolly at the older man.

"Crikey!" Brown Suit exclaimed quietly. "Scared the crap righ' outta me!"

"Hello, Bonavero," the woman said with a quiet, deep, womanly, elegant British accent. Bonavero took in the appearance of this woman: Tall and thin, with a curved, slender face, angular cheeks prominent below her cool, thin, blue eyes. She had her orange hair pulled up into a tight ponytail, which cascaded around her neck and down her shoulders. She was very beautiful for a woman in her thirties. But what struck Bonavero the most was her pure-white two-piece designer suit. She looked very elegant and business-like at the same time. It was a large contrast to slightly-chubby Australian Bonavero who wore a brown wool suit not enough hair to speak of, and had no posture to him whatsoever.

"So you're Chris, then?" Bonavero asked. "I was kind of expecting a chap."

"Christopher R. Forrester, at your service," the woman replied.

"So you're the chairman o' the Forrester Weapons Lab, eh?" Bonavero mused. "Nice ta meet'ya."

"The pleasure is all mine," the deep elegant accent chimed. "Now enough small talk. Shall we talk business?"

Bonavero stroked his mustache nervously. "Right, then."

"So," Ms. Forrester asked, "do you or do you not have a buyer for Metal Gear Stratus?"

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It must've been midnight when the door opened to Lynn's two-person quarters, but she was awake instantaneously, with a keen eye on the doorway.

A young teen, who couldn't have been more than seventeen (a year younger than Lynn) walked in. She seemed timid, pure, and just too young to be in the military. She didn't fit. Even her light brown flowing hair was way past regulations. Odder still was that in big white and red, across her shoulder, was the badge of a Medic.

"Er…H-hello," the timid girl said softly as she cautiously entered the room, swayed by the perma-frown look that Lynn always had. She stood there, like a lost puppy. Deciding she wasn't of any threat whatsoever, Lynn rolled back over. She felt the featherlight girl climb up onto the top bunk.

"Why is a Medic in the Recruit's living quarters?" Lynn asked, a rarity for her to speak unless spoken to. There was silence for a few seconds, and Lynn could almost feel the girls' discomfort.

"T-they umm… didn't have anwhere else for me to stay," the girl replied, quietly. "I'm only seventeen, and because I was taught medicine since birth… well, I supposedly have the most medical training here."

"Then become a doctor. Don't stick in the military and get in people's way."

There was silence. There was no way to be sure, but Lynn had the feeling the girl was crying silently. _Great._

"Why are you here? What do you have to do with the military?"

"W-what about you?" the girl asked, sniffing.

"To serve America, whether it costs me my life or not." Silence. "Go home."

"I don't have a noble reason for being here like you," the girl said softly. "But maybe I can support you by keeping you healthy.."

"Why?"

"Be…cause I can?" the girl replied quietly, unsure of the answer.

The phrases _To serve America _and _Because I can_ floated around in Lynns' head for a while. For the first time in her life, Lynn felt something.

Note From Author: Here it is, folks! The end of chapter one! Hope you liked it and are waiting for the next chapter…scheduled to come out soon! If you review, post your favourite new character (Lynn, her medic bunkmate, Bonavero, Christopher)


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Okay, here it is, chapter two. It's time to flesh out more of the story, so that more things become clear. 

**Chapter Two: Insistence**

Bonavero sat there for a second, nervous as hell. _Damn, she got righ' to the point, didn't she?_ he thought. He looked her in the eye for a second.

"I've gotta buyer for ya," Bonavero finally replied.

"I need a name," Ms. Forrester asked coolly.

"Unfortunately, they didn't gimme one," Bonavero confessed. Ms. Forrester stayed silent. "They did give me a code word, though."

"Code word?" Forrester asked, peaking an eyebrow.

"La le lu li lo."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ms. Forrester asked in her elegant accent.

"Hell if I know," Bonavero replied, scratching his chin. "Sounds kinda fruity, though."

"When is the meeting?"

"'Tree days from now, on Saturday. Same place, same exact table, same time," Bonavero recited.

Ms. Forrester leafed through her hand bag and pulled out a small PDA. She typed some information into her schedule, and put it back away.

"I hope the original price is still in effect?" she asked.

"More 'n likely," Bonavero answered. "They didn't mention it at all t' me, so…"

"Well, I guess my business here is concluded," Ms. Forrester said, and slowly stood up. She went to walk away, when a last-minute decision by Bonavero caused him to bolt up and catch Ms. Forrester's arm.

"Miss," Bonavero asked, his tone very serious. He looked at the floor, trying to find the right words. "Just…be careful with these people, alright? Something's not right."

Ms. Forrester looked him in the eye. She walked towards the door, but Bonavero distinctly heard her say 'Don't worry, I will.'

-----------------------------------------

Snake woke up that morning with an instant craving for a cigarette. His hand lazily flew in an odd ark from on his chest to under the couch. He searched around until he found what he was looking for; a plastic bag filled with rolled cigarettes. Since Otacon had claimed the bedroom (or more over, won a game of rock-paper-scissors), the couch was Snake's domain. So he had complete control of it. He had a stash of cigarettes under the couch at all times, because he knew Otacon would throw them out if he found them.

Snake fished a lighter from under the cushion, and lit up his smoke. The fragrant aroma seemed to rouse him into proper consciousness, and he sat up. He inhaled his first nicotine fix of the day, and exhaled in a cloud of wispy grayness.

"Up, are you?" Snake heard Otacon say. Snake looked quickly at the source of the voice, and saw Otacon at the desk. He relaxed when he saw that Otacon was focused on the screen of his computer. _Good,_ Snake thought, _the stash is safe._

"What are you doing this early in the morning?" Snake asked. Otacon usually wasn't up before Snake…and Snake got up at 6:00 in the morning.

Otacon took a sip of some cheap-brand coffee, and set his mug down on the desk. He swiveled in the chair to face Snake.

"I have a very interesting 'rumor' that was run by me," he replied. Snake grunted in response. Otacon took this as a 'please continue.' "One of my contacts was in a restaurant yesterday, a place called 'The Shiny Penguin.' It's actually only a few blocks down the street. I've heard they're good for their French Toast--"

"The point, Otacon…"

"Anyways, my contact said 'he may or may not of heard something about a metal gear.'"

"Very well founded and deserves immediate checking."

"That's not the meat of it," Otacon said, ignoring Snake's sarcasm. "Apparently, they're going to meet two days from now, on Saturday."

"Where?" Snake asked, standing up and going to fetch his own cup of coffee.

"Same place, apparently."

Snake grunted again before pouring his coffee into an ivory white mug.

"I think this warrants a closer look," Otacon said. "I have to work that day, so…"

Snake stopped mid-sip.

"You're going to have to be the one to go," Otacon finished, confirming Snake's fears.

"Great."

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Lynn didn't know what time it was when her bunkmate finally woke up. She had her face to the ground doing more one-armed pushups when she become faintly aware of movement on the top bunk. Ignoring the girl, she continued doing her pushups, while counting mentally. _1056, 1057, 1058_…

Lynn saw out of the corner of her eye between pushups that the girl had sat up and was rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She then noticed Lynn doing her pushups.

About an hour had passed, and after a few other exercises, Lynn sat on the floor, sweat trickling down her face. The girl had been watching her intently for the whole hour, fascinated. Lynn had ignored her the whole time.

"You seem different than the other Recruits," the girl's soft voice finally spoke up. Lynn stayed quiet, like she normally did. She grabbed a towel from her belongings and wiped her face with it.

Then, something crossed Lynn's mind.

"I've also been trained in something since birth," Lynn said, standing up, grabbing a change of uniform.

"Trained in what?"

"Hand to hand combat, weapons, stealth, survival, sabotage, and tactics, among other things." The girl's eyes widened, her eyebrows raising.

"W-wow," the girl murmured. "You must've been trained pretty young. How old were you? Ten?"

"I said 'since birth.'" With that, Lynn headed off to the showers. She saw a look of shock and horror on the girls face as she left the bunk room. _Another one,_ Lynn thought.

--------------------------

Bonavero wasn't necessarily a rich man, but he was important. To one person, anyways. A person who he admired and respected for their work. But they didn't know who he was, and he preferred it was kept that way.

So it astounded him when a blue sedan pulled up next to him as he walked down the street.

"Are you Barney Bonavero?" someone with a deep voice from within the car asked.

"M-maybe, w-who wants t' know?" Bonavero replied, moving away from the car as it slowly kept pace with him as he walked down the street.

"Ms. Forrester would like to have a word with you," the same voice said. Bonavero's anxiety downed a bit, feeling lucky that the encounter wasn't about what he thought it would be.

"What's Ms. Forrester want? I told 'er the meeting place and time…"

"Just get in the car, Mr. Bonavero, I don't have all day."

He hesitated for a moment. He figured, or rather hoped, was that he was wanted so that Forrester could clarify some things. So he walked over to the car. The door was pushed open, revealing a dark-skinned, bald, tall guy at the wheel, and a relatively short, thin woman who looked about twenty, with a dark blue business suit and skirt in the back. Once Bonavero begrudgingly entered the car, he noticed that she was Asian, and intelligent-looking.

He hoped this was a business meeting.

"Please close the door," the driver asked, in his booming deep voice.

Bonavero complied. As the car started moving, he glanced nervously at the young businesswoman beside him and the driver.

"Can I ask what this is about, then?" Bonavero asked, both nervously and politely at the same time.

"Just sit tight and enjoy the ride," the Asian woman said from beside him, in the same elegant British accent that Ms. Forrester had. _Strange._

-------------------------------------

The next day was Snake's day to prepare for the recon mission he'd be doing tomorrow. He gathered up all stuff he'd managed to pilfer some way or another. A small optical disk recorder, and a wire that would transmit directly to Otacon's computer. He also had a microphone that was stuck to the inside of the collar of the shirt he'd be wearing to his little recon mission. Last but not least, his Codec was checked to make sure it was in proper working order. Three different ways of recording the conversation.

But Snake knew something was up: Otacon never sent Snake to check out a 'rumor' with this much equipment before. Otacon had told him that 'he trusted the source,' but still…

"Everything checks out for tomorrow," Snake said, walking past Otacon to the fridge. He pulled out a can of pop, pulled the tab off, and took a hearty mouthful.

Otacon was intent on reading something on his computer monitor. "That's odd…" he mumbled.

"What?" Snake asked, sitting down in his usual place on the couch.

"My contact was supposed to have responded to my email today… But he didn't."

"Mail delay?"

"It's the internet, Snake."

"Maybe he forgot?" Snake suggested.

"No, he's the kind of guy who would respond even if he had to type with his feet. Something's very wrong for him not to have responded…"

This got Snake's attention.

"You sure?" Snake asked.

Otacon stayed silent, browsing his Email inbox.

"I'm adding a new item to the list of things to take with me," Snake said. "My SOCOM." Snake trusted Otacon. If he said something was up, then something was definitely up.

------------------------------------------

Saturday morning was a bloodlust for people stationed at the Manhattan army base, as it was their first of two days off to do basically what they wanted and attend to their needs.

Lynn, however, saw it as a useless day, good for nothing if not training or studying. However, she found out her first Saturday at the base was going to be a bit different.

Lynn was coming back from the showers, when she saw her bunkmate conversing with a Drill Sergeant outside her bunk unit.

"Sorry, but I don't know the directions," the Sergeant said in a gruff voice as Lynn approached.

"Thank you anyways, sir," the young girl replied, looking down and disappointed.

"Recruit," the Sergeant said, nodding at Lynn as she approached.

"Sir." Lynn stopped and stood at attention.

The Sergeant's face lit up a bit, like he thought of something important. "Recruit, do you know the streets of Manhattan very well?" the Sergeant asked.

"I know most of it, Sir," Lynn replied.

"Well then, I think I just solved your problem," the Sergeant said to the young girl.

"Sir?" Lynn asked.

"You see, young Delintoro here needs to buy some 'items' that we unfortunately do not have at the moment. And she does not know this area at all, and I need someone to accompany her."

"S-sir, she doesn't n-need to do that, I can find my own way," the young girl stammered.

"I can't risk you getting yourself lost," the Sergeant said. "So I am ordering your bunkmate to accompany you on your travels."

"Yes Sir," Lynn said.

"At ease," the Sergeant said, turned briskly on his heel, and strode away.

"I'm so sorry," the girl said quickly, "I didn't mean for you to have to come with me…"

"An order is an order, and this one is 'to accompany Recruit Delintoro as she purchases some 'items,''" Lynn replied. She obviously didn't like her orders, but she was going to obey them. Besides, she could study and train once this child was done her shopping.

"Please call me 'Andrea,' and I really am sorry about this…"

"Get ready, we're going in three minutes."

---------------------------------------------

Betrayed. No money was going to him whatsoever. He had told Forrester to be careful, damnit! But she was the one that turned on _him!_

Bonavero was dimly aware that Saturday had come, that today was the meeting with the unseen buyers and Forrester. _The damn bitch._

After he had been driven to a rather large weapons facility on the outskirts of Manhattan, he had found out three things: The tall dark guy was a professional driver, the Asian woman was Ms. Forrester's Secretary, and lastly, that he was screwed.

He was beaten up a little, and tossed into a decrepit office and locked in. There was no way out, and the place offered little hospitality. The office obviously hadn't been used for quite some time, as a thick layer of dust lay over everything. Bonavero cursed himself for getting into the Sedan to begin with. He sensed something was up. They had thought that he was a double agent or something, and he was scheduled to be killed within a few days.

Not that he hadn't tried to escape. He had surmised that from the distance from the window to the ground he was about seven stories up, and the door was barricaded and had four different locks. Somehow, he had managed to pick through one, but gave up on the second. He knew he had only one hope, and his life was literally staked on it. The one person who really knew his true purpose in all of this… Would they figure it out? Would they come?

---------------------------------

Ms. Forrester checked her watch, and nodded to her driver. The dark man revved the car, and the blue Sedan slowly irked out of the swerving driveway that lay to the front to the massive Forrester Industrial Building. Luckily, her 'product' was somewhere safe, ready to ship out on her customer's order.

She was glad that her buyers had contacted _her_ and told her of Bonavero's plans to kill both of them at the meeting, take the money, and run.

That was another thing that was strange. Why did the buyers want paper money? She told them that the wire transfer would be completely untraceable, that her Secretary had seen to that.

This is why she had ten members of her 'union' that would be there, pretending to be enjoying their time eating, who were toting H&K MP5's. Safely stored, of course, under coats, in suitcases, in backpacks, and the like.

The time lingered to an hour until the arranged meeting time.

-----------------------------------

Snake looked himself over in the mirror. He looked like a geek. But it was the best that Otacon could put together to hide the recording equipment without arousing too much suspicion. Snake wished he could use his sneaking suit, but that would be extremely suspicious, to say the least. What's more, is he had to do it in public. No hiding in a vent shaft, no ear up against a wall, he had to sit quite literally right next to them.

"Ready?" Otacon asked from the living room.

"You ask me that again, see what happens."

"Good. The meeting is supposed to take place in an hour, so get going. Early seats will help."

"Who am I supposed to be looking for?"

"Just pay attention to anything suspicious."

"Great, spying on someone who might not exist and I don't even know what they look like."

"Glad you're so enthusiastic," Otacon replied. "Go."

------------------------------------------------

"What exactly is it that you're purchasing?" Lynn asked as she briskly waked down the street.

It would be funny to an onlooker, seeing two young recruits walking down the street in Standard Issue Casual Civilian Wear, as Andrea, though timid and shy, fit in even though she was easily identified as being from the base by her attire. Whereas Lynn stood out, from the way she walked, her cold look, and a small belt with utility pockets that was around Lynn's waist that held various equipment—none of which Lynn would tell Andrea when she asked. Andrea guessed it wasn't something she should know about.

"We're going to buy some medical equipment," Andrea replied softly, looking at the ground because of all the people staring. "I always keep everything I need handy, since I'm the bases head medic—" she stopped short, covered her mouth and turned a slight shade of red.

Lynn stopped as well, but otherwise ignored the girl's sudden action.

"I… wasn't supposed to say that," she said softly through her hand. "Please don't say anything,"

"Why?" Lynn asked.

"Yesterday they officially made me the base's head medic."

Lynn, for once in her life, was stunned. She could tell that the girl wasn't lying… But was it that she had that much medical knowledge, or was the base desperately in need of a medic?

Lynn started walking again.

"Fine, but don't let anyone know about my training, either. I don't want attention."

"I don't want it either…I just want to help people."

They walked for a few more minutes, until a noticeable grumble erupted from the general area of Andrea's stomach.

"Sorry…" Andrea apologized softly. "They had me busy yesterday so I haven't had many chances to eat…" She looked at Lynn, who continued to look ahead and walk at a normal pace. "Do you mind if we stop somewhere to eat?"

Lynn stayed silent.

"Uhm… my treat," Andrea said, blushing a little.

"We're supposed to be buying medical supplies, that's it," Lynn replied, but she was betrayed by a grumble of her own stomach.

"How about there? Andrea said, spotting a black and white restaurant dominating the next block. It had the name 'The Shiny Penguin' stenciled on the sign in curly handwriting, and featured a penguin that looked like it fell in oil holding a plate of bacon and eggs.

Lynn looked at the restaurant, and for a second displeasure managed to insert itself into Lynn's expression, but only for a second.

Lynn didn't say anything, so Andrea decided to go ahead and enter the restaurant. As she did so a large geeky-looking man with a bandana tried to go in at the same time, and nearly toppled the poor featherweight Andrea to the ground.

"Sorry" the guy mumbled gruffly and went inside. Andrea had managed to catch herself using the wall, and she was busy apologizing back.

The two polar-opposites entered the restaurant, and Andrea immediately went pink from all the people who turned to stare. She searched for an empty seat, and she followed closely behind Lynn.

'Cute couple' someone murmured from somewhere to the left, causing Andrea to turn pink again. _People here aren't nice_, Andrea thought, sitting down. Lynn sat down directly across from Andrea, her eyes scanning the room, arms crossed.

The bandana geek who nearly toppled poor Andrea sat down at the table directly beside the two girls, and he, too, seemed to be searching the room.

They waited for a bit, and eventually a waitress came to attend them.

"Can I get you two anything?" she asked politely. "Girls from the base are always welcome here."

"Uhm…" Andrea said, looking at the menu, her indecisive nature showing. "I'll have a Saturday Evening Special, please."

"And your date?"

Lynn and the waitress were surprised someone could turn that shade of red.

"N-no, were not—we're just—" Andrea stammered.

"You didn't know that this area is a date hotspot for residents of the Manhattan base?"

"N-no," Andrea admitted.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to judge you, but your friend looks a little…anyways, what will she be having?" the waitress asked, quickly changing the subject.

Lynn stayed silent.

"I guess the same thing as me," Andrea answered for Lynn, her face still the same color. The waitress left. Andrea glanced at Lynn, who apparently had no reaction to the waitresses' misjudgment. It seemed like nothing fazed her. Still pink but returning to normal color, Andrea looked away and noticed a beautiful older lady with a white business suit enter with a tall dark man and a young Asian woman….

Author's note: End of the second chapter, yeah! Got things set up for the extraordinary meeting of Snake, Lynn, and Andrea! I fleshed out my characters a bit more to give you some idea of what they're like. And if you're analyzing the foreshadowing correctly, yes, there is something special between the two girls… but that'll have to wait a bit until it develops further. 

And yes, Bonavero is more than he initially seems… See for yourself! Next chapter on it's way soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Here it is, the extraordinary meeting of Snake, Lynn, and Andrea. Here you will get a taste of what Lynn is truly capable of--benefits of her father's training. Though, this is just a small sample of the action you can expect from the story…

**Chapter 3: Congruence**

Snake had noticed that the girl he had nearly toppled over was sitting next to him. He would've helped the poor girl up, but the bump had knocked some gear loose that he had to quickly re-attach. Judging by what they were wearing, they were from the local base, and he didn't want to attract too much attention.

"Can you hear me Snake?" Otacon's voice resonated into his ear. Snake coughed as a response. "Good. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, okay?" Another cough.

As the two young recruits next to him were attended by a waitress, and there was some sort of mix-up with their relationship, Snake suddenly became aware of the twenty or so people that seemed slightly out of place. He looked to his right and noticed that the tougher-looking one of the two recruits beside him also was looking at these people. Snake had already figured out that these two girls were here on coincidence, but there was something about the girl with the black hair that got Snake's attention in the first place.

Snake caught the girl's eye, and her eyes darted towards the door and back, signaling to take a look. Snake figured the girl noticed something odd about him, as well. Snake looked over, and saw three people enter that seemed very out of place. A thirty-something woman entered, with a tall dark man and a young Asian businesswoman. And they all didn't look like they were here to enjoy a nice Saturday evening with each other.

The three strangers walked in, right by Snake and the girl, who both watched as the trio walked over to a specific table, without looking for a free one, and sat down in front of a small old man. Snake edged closer to them, though at the end of the table he was still fifteen or so feet away. He wondered if he could hear them. He had a strange feeling that these were the people he was waiting for. He had discarded the theory that this was a rumor when he noticed the twenty odd people.

Snake could only catch snippets of the conversation, but from what he heard, it was certain that this was a sales meeting. The merchandise in question was a new Metal Gear called Stratus, codenamed 'Shadow.' Not much else could be heard over the indignant chattering of the other customers, enjoying their Saturday evening.

**--------------------------------**

"I will not lower the price," Forrester stated. "Millions of dollars were spent on it, and millions of dollars it will cost."

"I see…" the old man said sadly, stirring his glass of water with his straw. "You're absolutely sure you won't lower it, then?"

"Once she states a price, there's no bargaining," the Secretary replied for her boss.

"Quite a regrettable choice, regrettable indeed…" the old man trailed off. He stood up slowly…and so did ten other people in the restaurant. Then, ten others stood up along with Ms. Forrester. The old man surveyed the scene. "So sad…"

-------------------------------------------------

Snake and the silent recruit's attention snapped to when the first ten stood up along with the old man who was with the strange three people. Snake new the situation was about to get hairy when another ten people stood up with the woman in the white suit.

The old man started to walk away, as did the woman in the white suit.

It took the sudden movement all twenty people made to send Snake flying for cover as he knocked down his table and whipped out his SOCOM. He noticed, that at the same time as him, the recruit with black hair jumped forward, heaving both herself and her brown haired comrade to the ground as she screamed in surprise.

Bullets followed a second later.

In less than four seconds, the restaurant had turned from a late Saturday dinner to a miniature war zone. H&K MP5s fired all around, while both waitresses and customers screamed and ran for the exit, in a mass panic.

Windows shattered, and some innocents dropped to the ground. Snake looked over at the ground, and saw the younger looking recruit on the ground… as the black haired one dashed forward in a low run.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Snake called out, but the noise was so loud that no one, not even himself, heard.

Snake was then amazed when one of the attackers noticed Lynn, and shifted his fire. She instantly ducked to the right with precision, then lanched herself forward in a front flip. Her foot came crashing down over the man's skull, and there was a loud _crack_ as the man forcefully hit the floor.

But the girl didn't stop there. She immediately ran up to another assaulter, who tried to kick her. She caught his foot with one hand, lifted it up, shifted her centre of mass, and brought her elbow crashing down onto his knee, which snapped like a twig.

Several other men noticed and fired at her from behind their cover. Instantly, with startling speed and precision, the girl shifted the man to block the bullets-

-while the girl used the now-dead guy's own machine gun and expertly fired a three-round burst into one of their heads. She then dove forward, shifting the dead body so it landed on top of her, and aimed down the sights of the gun as bullets pelted the dead corpse on top of her.

_Smart,_ Snake thought. He was too stunned to rush out and help, but as the girl fired at two more attackers, who by now had killed each other to a small enough size where one could hear another, an attacker came up behind the girl and pointed his 9 mm at her head.

"Look out!" Snake shouted and fired a round at the threat. He dropped, and this snapped Snake out of his state of amazement. He dashed forward as well, and landed right beside the girl, knocking over a table in front of them as a stream of bullets tore a neat line across it.

Three guys remained, two firing at the one guy who took a bullet in the arm and fell yelling in agony.

That meant the last two had no one to shoot at but Snake and the girl, who, as expected, ducked, reloaded, and fired at the table. Both Snake and the girl rolled to opposite sides as the table blew in half from the torrent of lead, and rushed forward to double team the last two.

As Snake fired his SOCOM at the attacker to the left and the girl used the MP5 to mow down the one on the right, he only then became aware of Otacon's incessant yammering in his ear.

"Snake? SNAKE! What's happening! Snake!"

"Hold on, Otacon!" Snake replied, scanning the room for more threats. He noticed some people heading for the entrance, toting shotguns. _Not good._

"Come on!" Snake shouted to his newfound ally. The girl ran over to the other one she was with, who was in a corner and crying, covering her head. Definitely not soldier material. The girl grabbed the one on the ground, and literally ran carrying the other girl under one arm while holding the H&K steady with the other.

Snake leaped over the cashier desk, praying dearly that there was a backdoor as the shotgun men burst through the door.

The girl followed, plowing through the wood that barred entrance to the cashier area. It snapped in several pieces, but the girl seemed unfazed. A couple of rounds were fired in their direction, missed, and were responded to when different men came streaming in through the side entrance. The two groups of men fired at one another, now ignoring Snake and the two girls, who used that parlance to slip out the back door and into the alleyway. Sirens were heard off in the distance.

The two ran for hours, quiet except for Otacon's screeching voice in his ear.

Eventually the two stopped outside a hotel, the younger girl (who had fainted back in the restaurant) hanging over the other's arm.

"Here, hold her, make it look like she's asleep. And hide these guns," the girl said, handing over her MP5 to him. Snake took off his outer shirt, discarded the recording equipment save for the optical disc recorder, and wrapped the two steel death machines in it. He carried the shirt like it was just a bundle of clothes, underneath the young girl who he now supported with both arms. She was a featherweight, and Snake could support her with one arm too, but that wouldn't look like he was gently carrying a sleeping lady.

The girl went in first, pulling out her wallet and jabbing a credit card under the nose of the desk clerk.

"One three-person room," the girl said simply. The clerk slowly swiped the card through his computer and slid it back over. He handed them a set of two electronic keys, both of which the girl grabbed and stuffed into a pouch on her belt.

"What happened to the girl?" the clerk asked, eyebrows furrowed, looking at the unconscious Andrea in Snake's arms.

"She had a little too much to drink," Snake replied, with a false smile. He followed the other girl as she quickly went four floors up the stairs and came across their room, conveniently located next to the staircase. The girl quickly opened the door, and Snake slipped inside. The door shut with a small groan as it fit unevenly into the frame. The girl went into the bathroom as Snake hid the two guns under the bed, and laid the poor girl down on top of it, who was starting to come out of it.

The girl came back out of the bathroom, her shirt missing, revealing her sports bra underneath. Snake took no note of this however, as he was busy looking at the red hole in the girl's right shoulder and the large trickle of blood that was oozing out of it.

_She ran all the way here with that kind of wound?_ Snake thought mentally. Whoever she was, she wasn't your run-of-the-mill recruit.

The girl half sat and half collapsed onto the head of the bed. She ripped part of the under blanket off and tied a very tight binding over her right shoulder, right at the joint. Not once did an emotion of pain cross her face.

Snake and the girl sat there for half an hour. At that time, the younger girl was awake fully. She sat up, and glanced between the two. She held herself, like she was supporting her body from falling. She started crying.

"I-I'm sorry I c-couldn't help," she said do softly Snake almost barely heard it. Both Snake and the girl stayed silent.

"Not everyone's cut out for fighting," Snake eventually said. The younger girl looked up, bleary eyed, and then noticed the binding on the other girl's shoulder. "What's that?" she asked, moving around to get a better look. Her eyes lit up with terror when she saw the bullet wound. She started crying again. "It's all my fault, if I never dragged you in there…"

"You're a medic, right?" the girl with the bullet wound finally spoke up. "Treat it for me." The younger one stopped crying, looking at the wound.

"I..I don't have anything I need," she replied. "That's why we were out today, is to get some medical supplies…"

"I think there's a drug store down the street, I'm pretty sure it has everything," Snake spoke up.

"It might," the girl said, wiping her eyes with the cuff of her S.I. shirt.

"Neither of you look in the condition to go out in public, so I'll go," Snake said. He stood up. "Can I have a key?"

The girl tossed him one without hesitation. He put it in the pocket of his loose pants.

"D-do you know what you need for this?" the young girl asked.

"He knows what he's doing," the other girl said. "Go. I'm starting to feel the effects of blood loss."

"I'll be as fast as I can. When I get back, I'll explain exactly what's going on here… and I want you to explain to me why you have more skills and training than most Special Operatives." The girl sat there, silent.

-------------------------------------------

"Well, that was an utter failure," the tall dark man said to his boss. "We lost Laura in the process…"

"My Secretary will be dearly missed, yes," the Englishwoman Forrester replied from the back of the blue Sedan. "But right now, Adam, we have larger problems."

"They got the money," Adam the chauffer replied, more of a statement than a question. "And they stole your PDA. They know where the Metal Gear is being kept."

"If they can hack through the large encryption the thing has," Ms. Forrester replied. "We must head to our safe house in Chicago for now, until we can make a plan."

"Yes, ma'am," Adam replied. He shifted his sunglasses like he normally did when he was nervous about saying something.

"What is it, Adam?" Ms. Forrester asked, seeing his telltale sign.

"Well, it isn't my place to question, Miss… but if it was Mister Bonavero's wish to have you assassinated, why did he warn you?"

"Crisis of conscience?" Ms. Forrester suggested.

"Maybe, but…"

"Then we shall take him with us to Chicago."

"We'll need some men to handle him," the chauffer replied.

"He doesn't seem like a very violent man," Forrester said coolly. "But one never overlooks the value of safety in such things, do they?"

"No ma'am."

-----------------------------------

If it wasn't for Otacon't previous incursions in dire situations like this, he would've had a heart attack by now. But Snake had said he'd fill Otacon in on what happened when he had a chance. Otacon was on his fifth coffee, which was four more than he usually had in one day. This added to his nervousness.

"Otacon, you there?" Snake said over the Codec, nearly making Otacon spill his mug of caffeinated drink.

"Snake!" Otacon replied. "What the hell happened in the restaurant?"

"Looks like the buyers and sellers didn't agree to the terms," Snake replied.

"So, it's true then…" Otacon trailed off, settling back into his chair.

"Yeah. I'm taking care of a small problem right now, but once we're done, we'll head back there."

"Okay," Otacon replied. "--Wait, _we?_"

"I'll explain when we get there. Right now I'm getting some supplies at a drug store getting medical supplies."

"Who's with you, at least tell me that," Otacon pleaded. "I don't like to be left in the dark."

"Two fresh recruits from the Manhattan base, but they're very strange. Talk to you when we get there."

Otacon listened to the silence for a few seconds and played back the restaurant's recording again. He had been listening to it since he had dropped out of contact with Snake to both occupy his time and listen for something weird. Just the same thing over and over again. Snippets of conversation here, snippets of conversation there--

"--Forrester Weapons Lab."

Otacon stopped the recording, rewound it a couple seconds, and played it.

"Kzzzk ksh …Forrester Weapons Lab…Kshzkkzzzzzzz"

--Yes, it was faint, but he heard the name Forrester Weapons lab mentioned.

Quickly, excited on this new lead, Otacon opened up a web browser window, and typed in the Google search engine address.

Otacon quickly typed in _Forrester Weapons Lab_, and hit Enter. A couple seconds passed, and the search results returned.

There, in big blue letters, was the official website for the company. Intrigued, Otacon opened up a new window to preserve his original search results, and clicked on the link.

A few more secons slipped by and a blue and silver web page inked its way down Otacon's monitor.

_Forrester Weapons Lab--Our motto is 'deterrence,' not 'destruction.'_

Otacon read on to find out the company was founded thirty years ago by a man named Frederick Archibald Forrester, who originated from Britain. The company was now lead by his daughter, who was also the chairman, Ms. Christopher Forrester.

Otacon leafed through the company's website, finding nothing except pages of what they do in each divison, how they aim to create jobs for people, and how they're 'anti-war.'

A link caught Otacon's attention. Apparently it was an interview conducted with the chairman, for a local newsgroup. Otacon opened up the link. A media player popped up, and a fuzzy interview started with a microphone levitating slightly under a woman's chin. The woman looked to be about late twenties at the time, and had a soft yet angular face with orange hair in a ponytail.

"Hello," the woman said, "I am Christopher Forrester, chairman of the Forrester Weapons Lab. We are decicated to--"

But Otacon suddenly didn't want to know what she was dedicated. His blood ran cooler than it had a minute ago, a tingle spreading throughout his body. He rewound the recording of the restaurant, and played it again.

"The price is the price," Otacon heard the exact same British accent say, through the snippets of available audio. Otacon immediately minimized the recording and everything else except the original search results he did on Google.

He leafed through the results, until he was on the 24th page of them, and found an interesting link. The heading below the link was '_Forrester Labs: Job creation or Annihilation?_'

Otacon opened up the link. A whole article appeared before him, with pictures and scraps of newspaper stories pasted here and there. He scanned through the document, reading how there had been several indictments against them for classified things, and unexplainable large amounts of money that miraculously appeared.

One paragraph caught Otacon's eye:

_--Even so, on several occasions, inspectors, pest control employees, and other such people outside of her own 'ring' of people were never allowed into two of the company's many buildings: Their Manhattan Weapons Research Facility and their new, rather expansive lab they just recently built in the northern regions of Canada, safely nestled between mountains to protect it from significant weather damage, and is even the first lab to feature it's own airport a few miles south. _

_There have also been rumors circling around about a possible connection to previous Metal Gear projects--_

Otacon stopped and leaned back on his chair.

"Well, I'll be damned," Otacon sighed, rubbing his face with his hand.

--------------------------------

Lynn felt her vision starting to turn blurry. A whole blanket she had been using was soaked with blood, despite her attempt to cut off circulation. Andrea was fretting around, trying to find something else to soak up the redness. She had nearly thrown up when she saw how much blood was missing.

"It must've hit a vein," Andrea had said quietly. She went closer to examine it--

--and for the first time seemed to notice that Lynn was only wearing her sports bra, her shirt completely missing. She withdrew for a minute, blushing a bit, remembering what had happened in the restaurant, before all the madness had started. But she knew unless she helped Lynn, she was going to die. So red face and all, Andrea parted the bullet wound amidst a small torrent of red liquid.

Sure enough, a small but important vein had been severed and both ends lay at either side of the twisted hunk of metal that had once been a bullet.

Then, all of a sudden, Lynn swayed backwards onto the bed, catching herself with her left elbow. It was obvious to Andrea she was fighting to stay conscious--a lesser person migh've been dead by now. Andrea, if anyone, knew how much blood Lynn had lost and how much danger it represented.

"Where isss e'?" Lynn asked, her voice slightly slurred.

"I don't know, he should be back by now," Andrea said worriedly. She gingerly touched the wound with her fingertips. Lynn gave no response. That was not good--she was starting to lose all feeling in her arm. And Andrea knew also that Lynn's arm was very important to her way of life… losing her arm meant losing her life.

Author's Note: End of chapter three! Three chapters in two days! Wow, that's a lot of writing. Anyways, now that we've progressed this far, what's going to happen to Bonavero? Who is he, really? Is Lynn going to make it? What will Otacon's news bring? Find out soon!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Aha! If you've made it to the fourth chapter, I must've captured your interest in the first three. And now, you get to find out what happens with Lynn!

**Chapter 4: Existence**

Snake paid the old cashier with what little money he was carrying, and left hurriedly. The drug store the girl had mentioned had been closed for the day, so the unlucky Snake had been forced to run further up the street to a strip mall.

Snake hoped that the girl was going to be alright--there was a lot he wanted to ask her. He ran at a fast pace, slow enough that the supplies didn't jiggle all over the place but fast enough that it caused a slight breeze on Snake's weathered face.

For several minutes he ran, past startled civilians as they all parted to the side to let him by.

The sun was starting to go down, too, which meant he'd have to stay the night in the hotel with the two recruits. Not that spending a night with two young girls was anything bad, but he desperately wanted to get back to his apartment and plan his next move.

"My my, you're in a rush today, sir," the hotel's clerk said as Snake rushed through the lobby. Snake just rushed right past him and into the staircase. Four flights of stairs later, Snake darted through the staircase entrance door, made a sharp ninety degree turn, and barged into the hotel room.

Lynn was on the floor, and another sheet off the bed had been bloodied. But what worried Snake was that she wasn't moving, and the younger girl was bent over her crying.

"Is she dead?" Snake asked quickly as he ran over to her side.

"N-no, but soon there won't be enough to carry oxygen throughout her body!" the girl whined.

"Here," Snake grunted, and tossed the supplies on the floor beside the girl. She immediately ruffled through it and pulled out everything. She set it all down in some sort of order. "Do you really know what you're doing?" Snake asked.

"I was given my Certificate when I was fourteen," the girl replied, sniffing. Snake half-laughed half-grunted.

The girl washed off the wound, even though more blood was trickling out of it. She then proceeded to disinfect the whole wound. Then, without missing a beat, she pulled out some packaged utensils and tore them out. Then, much to Snake's surprise, took out the twisted bullet in one careful movement.

More blood erupted.

The girl then grabbed some more utensils, including a small clamp, and went to work on closing the vein.

Snake had been very surprised that the girl took the bullet out so quickly. Usually it required some careful maneuvering otherwise something very wrong could occur. Snake surmised the girl had enormous medical potential, and knew now why she had gotten her Medical Practitioner's Certificate at such an early age. The kid was definitely a medical genius.

An hour had passed since Snake came back with the medical supplies, and Andrea finished up stitching the bullet wound. Snake had seen it done before on the battlefield--by high end field medics. Never by a teenager. But the stitching was done perfectly, and if the wound wasn't jarred at all, Snake was certain it would heal over with only a minor scar.

The bandaging was the next and last thing. A large white pad was taped over the wound to absorb any fluids that escaped.

"T-that's it," the girl said. "All she needs now is rest, at least a couple day's worth."

"Shouldn't it be at least a week?" Snake asked.

"Normally yes, but Lynn is strong. A couple days should give her enough recovery time," the girl said softly, but sounding exactly like a doctor. "I wish she could have a _month_ to recover, but somehow I don't think she'll want to…"

Snake's conscience was being torn in half from the decision he had to make: Get back to Otacon ASAP, or help take the girl back to the base?

He had also promised he'd explain what's going on…

"You should go wash up," Snake told the young medic. It was true that she looked terrible from the day's stress and crying, but Snake had an ulterior motive--he wanted to call Otacon without disturbance. The girl who had been called 'Lynn' certainly wasn't going to be awake for some time, so she wasn't worried about her.

"I um…" the girl said, glancing at Lynn's unconscious form.

"Don't worry, I'll be here," Snake said to comfort her. The girl was obviously worried about Lynn--Snake found it amusing. The girl's reaction in the restaurant had made him smile a little. And Snake rarely smiled. The last time he had was when he saw Raiden standing in the bewildered crowd after ship-wrecking Arsenal, reuniting with his lover Rose.

The girl begrudgingly left her companion, and went into the hotel room's bathroom.

Snake finally had the opportunity to just look around the room, now that there was no emergency that needed to be taken care of. There was three beds, each one a single-person one lined up neatly one-beside-the-other, with about a meter in between each one. The thing was, the one closest to Snake and the prone recruit Lynn was almost completely stripped of sheets, and covered with bloody ones. Which left two beds. Other than a few blood spots on the floor, there was nothing much else out of place in the room.

Snake dialed up Otacon's frequency as he hoisted the surprisingly-heavy Lynn and carried her over to the middle bed. He laid her down. She weighed quite more than Snake thought she would've. The medic was a featherweight in comparison--it was no wonder Lynn could carry her so easily. Snake didn't doubt that she could carry _him_, either.

"Snake!" Otacon exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm here," Snake replied quietly, so that the girl in the bathroom didn't hear. Snake sat down on the last free bed.

"I managed to find out some things, thanks to your recording," Otacon said. Snake's full attention was snapped to Otacon.

"What?"

"The company that's trying to sell is the Forrester Weapons Lab Company," Otacon answered.

"Forrester…Never heard of it."

"Of course not, it's a British weapons company."

"British? A British Metal Gear?" Snake exclaimed. This was the first time a Metal Gear had been tied to the British.

"Yeah, and the person at the restaurant was the company's chairman, Christopher Forrester," Otacon continued.

"The tall dark guy?" Snake asked.

"No, she has orange hair," Otacon responded.

"Yeah," Snake said, remembering the day's events, "I remember someone like that there. She had a white suit on."

"That confirms it, Snake. The first British Metal Gear is up for sale."

"How can you be so sure?" Snake asked. It was up to him to doubt Otacon, to make sure no mistakes were made.

"Well, I was checking around the search results, and I came across a site with a whole article containing dirt on the company," Otacon said, pausing for a second. "They've had all kinds of rumors fly around about possible ties to Metal Gear projects. They might've supplied parts for others, under the ruse it was manufacturing equipment or something."

"So it wasn't just American and Russian parts that went into RAY and REX…" Snake trailed off. The idea of the British involved with a weapon of mass destruction chilled Snake to the core. Two countries were enough to worry about--now there was three.

"Otacon, do you think they're with the government?" Snake asked.

"I don't think so," Otacon replied. "There's too many dirt marks on their record for it to be a project for the government."

"It would've been covered up more efficiently."

"Precisely," Otacon said, knowing Snake would say this.

"So what do we do now?" Snake asked. He heard a small shuffle from within the bathroom, but then the shower started.

"How soon can you get here?" Otacon inquired.

"I don't know," Snake replied. "I kind of have a dilemma right now."

"What?"

"One of the base recruits I was with was shot, and she lost a lot of blood. Luckily the other girl managed to patch her up in time, but…"

"You've turned into a softie, you know that?" Otacon said.

"C'mon Emmerich, they're only eighteen," Snake said. "I think I might help take them back to the base tomorrow before I come back."

"Wait a second, they're teenagers, and one of the girls managed to treat a bullet wound possibly involving a severed vein?" Otacon asked, bemused.

"Well, she's seventeen, but she says she got her Certificate at fourteen…and I believe her."

"A medical genius…" Otacon muttered.

"The other one's unique, too."

"How?" Otacon asked.

"When things went ballistic in the restaurant, she did most of the work."

A full twenty seconds passed in silence. Snake heard the shower turn off.

"A medical genius a teenager with high-end training?" Otacon said amusedly. "What are they teaching at the Academy nowadays!"

"Yeah, that's what bothers me…It takes some people thirty years of training to do what she accomplished today," Snake said. "She fights like I do…"

"Something tells me there's more to the recruit than meets the eye," Otacon replied.

Snake was startled when the injured girl Lynn moved her hand, slowly and shakily, and lightly prodded the bandage on her shoulder.

"She's awake?" Snake asked. "Otacon, I have to go, I'll be in contact tomorrow."

The recruit opened her eyes, her face pale and devoid of color. Snake didn't know what to think. From the blood loss he'd saw, Snake figured she'd be down for the count for at least three days until she became conscious again.

"I…" Lynn said hoarsely, looking up at the ceiling.

"You shouldn't be talking," Snake said. Lynn ignored him.

"I've been trained… in everything…since birth," Lynn said. This took a little while to fully sink in.

"You were raised to be a soldier from birth…" Snake mumbled. He was reminded of Raiden's childhood--gunpowder in the food, fighting a war he didn't want to be a part of.

"Were you forced to?" Snake asked. But he was pretty sure he knew the answer before it came.

"N…no…"

"Willingly allowing your childhood to be devoured by combat…"

"My father…was the one who primarily…trained me…"

"Your own father! Snake exclaimed.

"I know…who you are…though…" Lynn mumbled. "Solid…Snake…"

"Great, another fan," Snake said sarcastically.

At that moment, the younger girl came out of the bathroom, freshly showered. She saw that Lynn was awake, and rushed over to her.

"How can you be awake!" she exclaimed softly, dropping down beside Lynn, a look of extreme worry clear across her face.

"Be…quiet," Lynn replied. "S..Snake, you told us…that you'd tell us what's…going on…"

"Another 'Metal Gear' adventure, I guess you could say," Snake replied. "But don't worry about it, I'm taking the two of you back to the base tomorrow--"

"--No…you're not," Lynn interrupted. "I can help…"

"You lost more blood than most people can stand," Snake said. "You won't be any use to anyone."

"You're not…understanding…I am going….regardless…of what you say." Snake massaged his temples, thinking. It was too much risk to take her with him. Training may not have been the problem, but experience certainly was.

But now that Snake thought about it, he had thought Raiden would be a liability, but the guy proved to be a lot of help even though it was his first mission. And it seemed like this girl had equivalent training, even if it wasn't high-end VR training…

"We don't know what our next move is yet, me and my associate. We can stay here for a few more days, if your credit card can handle it, and see what happens."

"Take this…child…back to the…base tomorrow," Lynn breathed, gesturing wobbly with a pale but scarred hand at the medic girl.

The girl looked at Lynn, then back at Snake.

"I guess I could…" Snake replied. Otacon was right--he really was turning into a big softie. There was silence for a few seconds, while the girl looked sadly at the ground.

"N-no," the medic girl finally said, lifting her head up. "I-I'm going too."

"You…are useless in…combat…" Lynn said breathily.

"I don't mean to sound like the bad guy, but I agree, taking one person is risky enough, but a young girl…"

"We're the same age," the girl pleaded. "Isn't that what a medic is for? Healing people on missions?"

"Go…home…" Lynn breathed simply.

"Why do you want to go so badly?" Snake asked. "You don't seem like the courageous type. I would've thought you'd _want _to go home." Snake looked at Lynn. "Or is it because you want to keep an eye on her?" Snake said, a mischievous tone in his voice. The girl blushed.

"N-no, it's just that…With her condition, I need to be there…just in case anything happens." She looked at Lynn. "I helped you, the least you could do is let me come…"

Snake sighed heavily and stretched his neck from side to side. He was going to regret this.

"Fine," Snake said, "You can come." Snake had his own motive for letting her join the group--a medical expert would prove to be handy. And the last few incursions Snake had with Metal Gear, he had been beat up pretty damn bad…

Snake's only worry was that based on the performance in the restaurant, the girl didn't react well to violence.

Snake looked and saw that Lynn had passed out again, but that was a good thing.

"Well," Snake said, looking at the digital clock that was set up on a bedside table, "It's getting late. We should rest and resume tomorrow. I'll introduce my associate to you tomorrow; his name is Otacon. He's the intelligence behind our little operation." Snake loosened the belt on his pants, and laid down on the bed he was sitting on.

"Oh," Snake added, "and since there's only two beds, looks like you're gonna have to share one with your patient…"

The girl blushed, and gingerly laid down on the edge of the bed. Lynn, who had been put on the bed sprawled out, hadn't moved at all, so she still took up the majority of the bed. Her face was red, and Snake found himself amused. _So, the shy girl has a crush on the other girl_, he thought to himself. _Cute._

---------------------------------------------

Bonavero was scared shitless when the door to the decrepit office rattled as the many locks were undone. Bonavero had been half-ways asleep in the corner when the sudden clanking had jerked him awake, and now three men entered the door. One of them was the chauffer.

"Get up, please," Adam said in his deep voice. Although reluctant, Bonavero complied. He stumbled up, and brushed the dust off his suit that had been transferred from the floor.

"What'ya want?" Bonavero asked, glancing between the three men, all of which were wearing black suits and sunglasses. Must be standard attire.

"A change of scenery," a slightly smaller guy than the chauffer said, in his late twenties, completely bald, and heavily built even though he was small. The guy's voice reminded Bonavero of James Statham.

"Come on," the chauffer Adam said. "We can do this the easy way…" He lifted out a small black baton like what the police used-- "Or the hard way…"

"I'm comin', I'm comin," Bonavero replied anxiously and followed behind the three men. He didn't dare try to escape, something told him these guys weren't the blue-collar workers most of the staff was made up of…

Bonavero was led outside, to the now-familiar blue Sedan that Ms. Forrester seemed to favor. And who was waiting inside, Bonavero noticed as the back door opened. She was sitting in the shotgun seat up front. Adam sat in his usual place--the driver's seat--while the bald guy got in the back first. Then the last guy (A ramshackle sixty-something with grey-white hair and a weathered face) ushered Bonavero in. He sat in the middle, and the old guy took up place in the last seat. He shut the door.

"Mister Barney Bonavero," Ms. Forrester said as the car started to pull away from the facility, "there are a few things I'd like to discuss with you." She turned around to face him.

-------------------------------------

Gustoff Gagarin sighed for the hundredth time as his limousine pulled into the gigantic, expensive hotel he was staying at. His sad attitude was furthered by his slightly sagging face, which was compliments of being in his late seventies.

Certainly, the exchange had gone the way he wanted it to--he got the money _and_ the PDA. Of course, as expected, the PDA was highly encrypted. Gustoff would leave that to whoever the piece of technology was passed on to. Gagarin wasn't a fan of technology, he still believed in the good old "do it yourself" approach.

What hadn't been planned for was the appearance of Solid Snake. At first, he hadn't noticed, but when the lead started flying, he recognized the face. And it looked like he had two recruits from the local base with him.

Gustoff couldn't imagine that Philanthropy was recruiting, so he guessed that their being there had been strictly coincidence.

But that didn't stop him from taking necessary precautions. He had done background checks on both recruits, and found out that the two that were at the restaurant were the most unique on the whole base.

Andrea Delintoro, the seventeen year old daughter of the famous Doctor Antonio Delintoro. She received her Medical Certificate at age of fourteen, but what she was doing in the military beat the hell out of Gustoff.

Janice Lynn, daughter of Peterson Lynn, a renowned combat specialist that had been busted down to Warrant Officer. He had trained his daughter to kill since birth. Gustoff figured the father was ingenious for doing such a thing. _If only I had kids,_ Gustoff thought. Maybe he would've been able to convince the girl to work for him.

But, it was not to be. It was a sin that he had to kill them both, along with Solid Snake. He wondered if anyone would hold a funeral for them…

Gustoff's cell phone, the only piece of technology he owned, rang in Bethoven's Second. He enjoyed the music, but he knew the call was important. He flipped the contraption open and held it to his wrinkled face.

"Speak," he said in Russian.

"Greetings, Gagarin," the voice said, rough but full of feeling.

"Greetings, Ocelot."

Author's Note: Oh! Oh yeah! Bet you weren't expecting that one! Well, okay, maybe most of you were, but hey--it makes sense, don't it? A new character fully introduced…Gustoff Gagarin. He's old, but he's not someone you'd want as your Grandfather! And now you've found out the two girls are accompanying Snake on his quest to destroy Metal Gear…why else would they have been introduced? Chapter five coming soon! In it, Snake plans his next move.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Awww, how cute, the two girls slept in the same bed…Just wait until you see them in the morning. It's adorable. Anyways, this is a small landmark for me. Five chapters means I've managed to pass that barrier from just another story to major project. 

**Chapter 5: Audience**

Night had passed the same way most do when you're on your way to destroying another nuclear-equipped walking tank, in other words, Snake slept like a rock. He could sleep anywhere, and a night not spent on a couch was much to Snake's delight.

Maybe it was because of that that Snake slept an extra half hour past his usual wake-up time. Snake grunted and rolled over, scratching his coarse beard. He saw 6:28 shining in green on the digital clock. The previous day's events eluded him for a second, until he rolled over to the other direction and saw the two recruits. Everything came flooding back.

Snake then noticed something amusing. The shy girl who had originally laid own on the very edge of the bed (to tell the truth, Snake thought she would've fallen off) had her cheek buried into Lynn's shoulder, and was all curled up like a cat, clinging to the other girl as if Lynn's arm were her last worldly possession. She was fast asleep, and it was an adorable sight to behold for Snake.

The other girl, Lynn, however, had not moved since she was moved from the floor to the bed the previous day, and who was also asleep, had no notice of the other featherweight stuck to her.

Duty all of a sudden called for Snake. He grumpily got up and crossed the blood-stained floor to the bathroom. He shut the door, and lifted up the toilet lid. Sitting down, Snake's face filled with a shade of purple as he found that his bathroom experience wasn't going to be very fun.

Twenty minutes and a few audible groans later, Snake emerged from the bathroom and quickly shut the door behind him. He had opened the window prior to exiting.

The medic girl was starting to come to, as she stirred a bit. Snake sat down on his bed.

"Morning," he said, waiting for the girl's reaction. She slowly opened her eyes, and freed one hand to rub them.

"Were you cold or something?" Snake asked.

"Hmm?" the girl replied. She looked sideways and saw how she had been sleeping. Her face turned red, and she backed away so quickly she fell off the bed. "W-was I s-sleeping like that?" She asked, embarrassed.

"Yeah," Snake said with a laugh. These girls had lifted his spirits, something that had not been done for many years. The young medic struggled back up, and sat on the end of the bed.

"So, what do we do now?" the girl asked softly.

"Well, first we get something to eat. Then you and me go and meet my associate Otac--"

"--I'm coming," the now-awake Lynn intervened.

"You can't even stand up, let alone walk," Snake said. Surely, some color had returned to her face, but--

Lynn suddenly moved, and to both Snake and the younger girl's surprise, Lynn struggled to sit up. She then sat, back against the bed's headboard.

"I-impossible," the medic girl muttered softly. Snake agreed--what the hell was with this girl?

Then, like some holy being rising from the ashes, Lynn struggled, swayed, but eventually stood up. She then wavered and fell against the wall for support. But the fact that she had managed to stand up, after losing that much blood and having one night's recovery rest, was very startling. Lynn sat back down on the bed.

"Okay, I'm impressed," Snake said, "But you still need to rest. If you want to come with me, you'll need all the rest you can get."

"I want to preserve my father's emergency funds," Lynn heaved. "The credit card has limits. I need it to pay for our travel fares, should there be any, as well as living expenses…"

"Yeah, money's kind of non-existent for me," Snake said.

"I'll cover expenses," Lynn replied breathily. "It sounds like without me you can't go anywhere."

Snake was now actually glad he had met up with these two girls. She was right--without her, Snake couldn't to much more than take the local city bus.

"How are we going to take you with us?" Snake asked. "You can stand, but you can't walk without support…" he trailed off as he looked at the younger girl. It took a second for it to sink in. Her face turned red again.

"I-um…I guess I could h-help her walk," the younger girl said shyly.

"By the way, what's your name?" Snake asked. He had no recollection of her name being mentioned at all.

"Andrea," she replied softly. "It's my first name."

"Okay, Andrea, do you think Lynn would mind if I ordered up some food? No one can work on an empty stomach, and Lynn needs the nutrition right now." Lynn looked up at him. "Don't give me that look, you know you need it. And be thankful we didn't take you to the hospital--their food sucks." He laughed. Snake was definitely in high spirits; he had never been this social. Maybe it was because there was someone who was more anti-social than him, and the cute medic that served somewhat as relief from the serious situations.

"Fine," Lynn answered, giving Snake the go-ahead to order some food. Snake picked up the phone and dialed up the first fast-food place he could think of. A pizza joint, one that Snake frequented whenever he had the time and money. He ordered two large pizzas, cheese and pepperoni. A bottle of pop was also on its way with the meal. Snake had specifically ordered the high fat meal for Lynn. Hopefully it would give her some extra energy to stop her from collapsing halfway to Otacon's apartment.

The 'forty minutes or it's free' rule was just barely just missed by the delivery guy, by the time the food got there. Snake opened the door up, just enough to allow the pizza boxes to slip through unscathed.

"Is everything okay in there?" the young delivery guy asked, craning his neck. He must've seen the blood stained sheets past Snake's head.

"We accidentally broke a bottle of ketchup," Snake quickly lied. He couldn't believe it when the guy's face lit up with understanding. Snake didn't actually think the guy would buy it--especially with Lynn sitting on the bed, in a sports bra and her bandage showing a small dot of red in the middle.

Snake quickly passed the credit card through the little gadget the guy had, thanked him, and shut the door abruptly. He carried the pizza over to Lynn's bed and plunked down one whole pizza on her.

"Andrea, you and me split this box, Lynn, eat that whole pizza otherwise you aren't coming," Snake stated.

"I don't eat very much," the shy Andrea replied. Snake tore off a section of the pizza box to use as a makeshift plate and handed two slices to her.

"This enough?" Snake asked.

"Yes, thank you," she replied softly.

Lynn looked at the pizza box. She opened it, and smelled the pizza.

"What is this?" she asked.

Snake choked on his first mouthful of pizza.

"You've got to be kidding me, right?" Snake asked, swallowing painfully. Not even knowing what pizza was--was she that removed from society at large!

The look on the medic's face was incredible. She looked so dumfounded, like someone had just told her they were her real parents.

"Y-you've never eaten pizza before?" Andrea asked incredulously.

"What the hell _do_ you eat?" Snake asked.

"Rations," Lynn replied. She lifted up a slice of pizza, and inspected it. She took a bite, ad finding that it was satisfactory, continued eating.

"'Rations,'" Snake repeated. It was the kind of answer he was expecting.

Andrea plundered a few plastic cups from a cupboard at the other end of the room, and poured some fizzing soda into three of them. She set one down on the bedside table next to Lynn, and gave Snake one.

"Don't ask, just drink," Snake said. "It has caffeine in it. That should help keep you alert." Lynn looked at the carbonated brown drink for a second, and downed the whole cup in a few mouthfuls. The burning effect apparently had no effect on her. She then resumed with the pizza.

"So," Snake said, taking a sip of his pop, "since the both of you are coming with me, I guess you should know more background on me, or at least more than what the media produces."

"You weren't behind the sinking of that oil tanker," Lynn said.

"No, I wasn't. It was a trap that was set up specifically for me, and I fell right into it." He sighed. "Shadow Moses was more than just a terrorist takeover, you know. It was a cover up for a new Metal Gear that was being developed."

"I read Nastasha Romanenko's book," Lynn replied. "It seems her portrayal was accurate."

"Yes, it was…" Snake said, trailing off in thought. "Anyways," he continued, "as I said the oil tanker was a ruse. There was a Metal Gear on it, this one developed by the Marines. After I took the photographic evidence and sent it to Otacon, another party took the Metal Gear and sunk the tanker. Another tanker with oil was sent and sunk at the exact same spot, to make it look like I was some sort of terrorist. That, and they had a reason to build the Big Shell."

"Does that have to do with what happened at the shoreline a few months back?" Lynn asked.

"Yes, it does. What got shipwrecked there was Metal Gear Arsenal, an underwater fortress that was capable of controlling information flow throughout the United States."

"It was removed quickly, and the story that was given was that it was 'an experimental reconnaissance submarine," Lynn said.

"Metal Gear, though the word is known to the general public now, is still amongst the most classified projects."

"So this new one…I remember you said it was British, and I heard the name Forrester mentioned…"

"Yeah, Forrester Weapons Lab, they're the developer of the new Metal Gear," Snake answered. "What happened in the restaurant yesterday was an attempt at selling it."

"I've researched Forrester Weapons Lab before," Lynn put in. "They produce some interesting armaments."

"Yes, and it appears Metal Gear is their new product."

"So what's the next move?"

"He said that we're going to see his associate," Andrea said, who had been quiet throughout the whole explanation about Snake's previous incursions.

"Yeah," Snake responded. "My old friend Otacon. Like I said, he's the one who hacks into government servers for intelligence."

"Well, then we should get going," Lynn said. Snake looked, and saw that she had eaten the whole pizza already.

"Alright, but you need to cover up your wound and bra. Your shirt has a bloody hole in it, so you'll have to wear my shirt," Snake said. He bent down and pulled up the shirt that had the guns wrapped up. He pulled out the MP5 and tossed it on the bloody bed, and tucked his own SOCOM into his pant's deep pockets.

"We can't take the MP5," Lynn said. Andrea was eyeing the gun out of the corner of her eye, and she moved a little away from it.

"Here," Snake said, taking the machine gun and placing it in the under frame of the blood soaked bed. "It'll take them a few days to find this."

Lynn struggled to her feet again, and Andrea had a quick reaction to go over and stop her from falling. Lynn's weight nearly caused the featherweight's knees to buckle, but as Lynn supported some of her own weight again, Andrea managed to stand up again. Snake noticed that the girl was easily a head shorter than Lynn, and it made it perfect. Although embarrassed, Andrea swung Lynn's left arm over her neck and tucked her own shoulder under the armpit for leverage. Her face was red once again, but her will to proceed managed to suppress the embarrassment.

The trip downstairs to the lobby was anything but fun. It took in excess of ten minutes for Lynn and Andrea to make it down the stairs without tripping and falling. Snake was forced to follow slowly from behind. Once they finally made it to the lobby, Snake tossed the keys at the desk clerk (a different one than before), and told him to terminate their stay. He watched them worriedly as Andrea half-carried the heavy but small Lynn outside.

The morning was very overcast, and it was Snake's best guess it was going to rain later on in the day. As such the air was cool and the muscle shirt Snake was wearing suddenly didn't feel like enough, even though it was a very warm time of year.

Snake found out to his luck the previous day when he had gone for the medical supplies (which he was being forced to carry) that the hotel they were at was only two hour's walking distance from the housing apartment building that Otacon and Snake lived.

Lynn's breathing had gotten heavier since they started moving, and her support had made sure she wasn't in danger of collapsing. Or to be precise, wasn't going to collapse at that minute. But Lynn stayed strong, staying silent except for her raspy breathing. Sweat had gathered on her face, a danger since it was such a cool morning. Lynn must've know this too, because with her free arm (the one below the bullet wound) she wiped off the sweat.

"Whoa, what's this?" a voice said from behind the group. Snake bristled and turned around--

--and came face to face with a cop. Snake quickly shifted the side of his pants with the SOCOM away from the officer.

Snake didn't doubt for a second why they'd attracted the attention of the local law enforcement, what with the pale macho chick being carried by a smaller girl and on verge of collapsing, and Snake who looked strange only wearing a muscle shirt in cool weather. Add to that that Andrea was the only one who'd cleaned herself up since yesterday--both Snake and Lynn probably smelled foul. And the easily-identifiable Casual Civilian Clothing standard issue the two girls were wearing, minus Snake's geeky flannel shirt on Lynn.

_Damnit,_ Snake thought.

"Must've been one hell of a party," the cop said to Andrea. He jerked his thumb at Snake. "Who's this guy?" he asked. Snake wondered if the cop thought he was a perv or something.

"H-he's um… a friend," Andrea stammered. She obviously wasn't very good at lying.

"Alright, let me see some I.D.," the cop asked, sighing. Snake swore inwardly. He had no documents he could produce--this situation had just gotten bad.

"Dad, can we just get going, I don't feel well," Lynn said. Snake could tell this cover story was forced.

"Uhm, yeah," Snake said uncomfortably, "the officer wants to see some of father's I.D."

"You shouldn't have left it at mom's house," Lynn replied. She didn't sound very convincing, but Snake was surprised she could force herself to say such things. It was actually funny.

However, the cop seemed to buy it, and lost interest. Andrea had a look of relief on her worried face.

"Alright," the cop said, "just make sure you get her well." He pointed at Lynn. "She doesn't look too well."

"Don't worry," Snake said, sighing with relief. The cop walked in the opposite direction. Snake looked at Lynn. "Thanks," he said. "That was a potential problem avoided."

"Be quiet and let's get going," Lynn replied. Snake grunted and continued walking with the two girls.

---------------------------------------------------

The trip was taking a long time, or at least seemed to be, being stuck between the two men for several hours now. He had been force fed food since he was stuck in that office.

His current conditions bewildered him. Originally, he had been waiting in the decrepit office to die, and now it seemed like they were on a road trip to Chicago. He didn't even want to think about what awaited in Chicago.

At that moment, Bonavero was waiting in the parked car while Adam the tall, dark chauffer was busy getting some food. It seemed that Bonavero was going to have to sit through another unhealthy meal. Bonavero wasn't sure if he was losing more weight from stress or gaining more from all the unhealthy food.

"Enjoying your trip?" the James Statham-sounding guy asked, smiling eerily. Bonavero did what he had learned to do over the past hours, which was to stay silent. It was better to give them nothing to respond to.

Ms. Forrester was still sitting in the shotgun seat of the car, massaging her knuckles. She got out of the car, and started to stretch. Bonavero watched her, without meaning to. Every way she moved, it was elegant. It was hard to believe she was the owner of a weapons company.

This whole situation, however, presented some opportunities for Bonavero. Hopefully _he_ would come after them, the only person that knew the inner Bonavero. Bonavero knew full well what kind of stuff this guy was involved in, and hopefully the trail would lead him along…

---------------------------------------

Gustoff Gagarin had met with some of Ocelot's men that morning, to hand over the techno-junk that had been deemed important enough to steal off the Forrester woman. Gagarin had never met Ocelot in person, but apparently it was beneficial to both parties if it was kept that way. So every so often one or two men would come along to gather stuff that Gagarin had managed to accumulate, whether it was documents he'd had his assistant print off, the information on the two girls, or in this case, the PDA.

Now it was late morning, approaching eleven o'clock. Ocelot's men had come back again an hour ago after they combed through Forrester's estate. Nothing of value or interest had been there, but that was already something Ocelot had predicted. Chances were, that wherever Forrester had fled to, _that_ was where the important documents and whatnot were being kept. The lab in the city didn't have anything in it anymore, Ocelot had already combed through that a week ago and found mostly everything missing. The place was still operating in what it showed to the public, though. Useless developments of pre-existing arms.

Gagarin sighed and laid back into his comfortable chair. He figured he might as well take a nap, seeing as it would take a few hours before Ocelot phoned back about the PDA.

Author's Note: End of chapter five! Hope you enjoyed the morning scene. Yes, things are starting to shape up for this story! I was educated on a few spelling errors on previous chapters, those should be fixed by the time you read this. As for next chapter, the planning and preparation for destroying Metal Gear finally begins!


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Sixth chapter and I'm still waiting for someone to review my work…come on! The story's not all that bad!

**Chapter 6: Conference**

Snake, Lynn, and Andrea managed to make it to the apartment without any more trouble. By the time they got there, however, Andrea was huffing and puffing from carrying her charge.

Otacon opened up the door within three seconds of Snake knocking. The door flew open, and Otacon rushed the three inside.

"Here, put her down," Otacon said quickly, gesturing to Snake's couch. Andrea squeaked as Lynn slid off her shoulder and landed on the couch, sitting up. Andrea collapsed onto the seat at the other end, trying to catch her breath. Snake was forced to stand as the two girls took up the middle seat as well.

Otacon bolted up the door, and darted over to his favored office chair.

"Alright, give me a rundown on what happened," Otacon said, leaning intently forward.

"Well," Snake said, sitting down on the floor, "in the restaurant, both the buyers and the sellers had men stationed in the restaurant, and like I said, things went haywire. These two were also there, and the macho chick was shot in the shoulder." Snake gestured over to Lynn, who lowered the shirt on her shoulder to show the bandage that was crusted with a small spot of blood.

"Why didn't you take her to a hospital?"

"We didn't need to," Snake replied.

"I know she has her Certificate, but the hospital would have a lot better equipment to take care of her," Otacon protested.

"That's not her style, I think," Snake answered. "She just wanted a quick patch-job, like what we were able to manage. I'm surprised she can even move with the amount of blood she's lost."

"She couldn't have lost that much," Otacon said disbelievingly.

"Two soaked sheets, and whatever's on the floor," Snake said. "A lot, trust me. The hospital would've gone haywire and said she needed a blood transfusion." Otacon opened his mouth to say something but Snake cut him off. "Trust me, it's better off this way. Besides, they're coming with me."

"W-what!" Otacon exclaimed loudly. He rose out of his chair. "They may be special, but they're still too young! Do you want to be responsible for their deaths!"

"Macho chick here's already made up her mind. She said she's going with me, regardless. Besides, she knows way too much to not be involved."

"What about the medic? You should at least send her back to the base!" Otacon pleaded.

"I-I can't," Andrea said softly. "If Lynn's going, then…so am I."

"You heard the lady," Snake said. "Besides, Lynn here said she'd cover any expenses encountered. Or do you have a secret stash of money I'm unaware of?"

Otacon stayed silent, and slowly sat back down in his chair.

"Have you at least briefed them on what you know?" Otacon asked. "Or who we are?"

"Well, I guess everyone should be introduced then," Snake replied. "They already know who I am, though."

"My name is Hal Emmerich, though most people in this business call me Otacon," Otacon said.

"What do you have to do with this?" Lynn asked.

"I…was the primary designer for Metal Gear Rex, that was being built at Shadow Moses," Otacon replied. His face saddened, remembering about Wolf…

"Okay then," Snake said quickly, "Why don't you two girls let Hal here know your names?" Snake looked at Andrea.

"My n-name is Andrea Delintoro," the girl said shyly. Snake then looked at Lynn.

"Recruit Janice Lynn, service number--"

"--Okay, the service number's not needed," Snake interrupted. "Anyways, Otacon, until we get things sorted out, these two will need to stay here. Lynn needs the healing time."

"This is a single bedroom apartment, where are we going to put everybody?" Otacon asked.

"I guess," Snake said, regretting what he was about to say, "the girls can have the couch. I'll use the extra blankets and make myself comfortable on the floor." Snake saw Andrea redden as she saw the small couch, and the fact that both girls had to sleep on it. There wasn't much space--they were going to be very crowded.

Snake suddenly had a craving for a cigarette; he had not had one since the morning of the day before. He trotted over to the side of the couch, and stuck his arm under. He fished around with his arm until he produced a small plastic bag with cigarettes. He motioned Andrea to sit to the side while he plundered his lighter from under the cushion.

Snake sighed with pleasure as the fresh smoke filled his lungs. Andrea coughed violently for a few seconds, but that subsided.

"So," Otacon said, leaning forward in his chair again, "I think I know what our next move should be."

"Do tell," Snake said gruffly.

"Well, in that article on the web I said I was reading, there's two facilities that no one's ever been allowed into, one of which is stationed right here in Manhattan," Otacon explained. "I think it warrants a closer look. It's one of their oldest facilities."

"What about the other one?" Snake asked.

"It's stationed way up in the northern parts of Canada, in the North-West Territories, snuggled within some mountains," Otacon said. "Apparently it even has it's own runway. It's the most suspicious of the buildings, as it cost the most, is the largest, and it would've been even easier for them to secretly expand underground."

"So that's most likely where the Metal Gear is being housed," Snake said, understanding. "But I take it we should take a look at the local facility first?"

"It's worth a shot, to see if there's any incriminating evidence, or at least some sort of lead," Otacon answered. "Recently they've had a few lay-offs, so the facility must've dropped production on something."

"Any idea what?" Snake asked.

"Not really, but that's part of why you're going there."

"When?" Snake asked.

"Not right away, we need preparation time," Otacon responded. He looked at Snake. "Which brings up a problem. We don't have any equipment to do a proper infiltration."

"I know where I could get everything," Lynn spoke up. Snake looked at her.

"Say," he said, "how expansive is your credit card?"

-------------------------------------------------

That night, Bonavero was handcuffed to a bed in a hotel room. Forrester had taken a total of three rooms--one for Bonavero and a constant guard (the James Statham guy), another one for Adam and the old guy, and the last one was an expensive suite for Forrester herself.

It was drawing near late-night, and his roommate was propped up against the headboard of his bed watching some ancient movie. Bonavero had his back turned to the guy, and was trying to get some sleep. _Who knows_, he thought,_ this might be my last chance to sleep in a real bed._

Reality sucked for Bonavero.

The movie apparently ended, and the guy turned the T.V. off. He stuffed the remote into the bedside drawer.

"Get some sleep, eh?" he said before rolling over.

----------------------------------------------

Gagarin got the call at nine o'clock. It was Ocelot calling back with the results of the PDA's analysis.

"Shouldn't take more than a few days," Ocelot said intensely. "The cryptology was excellent to be sure, but our _experts_ are no laughing matter."

"Very well then, let me know as soon as you've managed access to its contents," Gagarin replied.

"Remember Gagarin, I'm leaving it to your men to do your end of the bargain," Ocelot spoke over the cell phone. "Otherwise…you answer to the Patriots, not me…"

"All is well, Ocelot," Gagarin replied in a soothing tone. "Once you find out where Shadow is being kept, the hulking metal beast will be yours." He shifted the phone a bit so he could massage the arthritis in his right hand. "I have no interest in giant machines, but the money was a most welcome gift. For that you have my utter compliance. Your 'Patriots' do not have to worry, they will have their machine of destruction soon."

"Until next time," Ocelot replied evenly, and the line went dead. Gagarin flipped his cell phone shut and inserted it into his pocket. The man certainly was intense, and his voice was even more so. But it did not deter Gagarin, as not much did nowadays. His simple wish was to side with whoever had, or was going to have, the most power.

Power was the only thing that deterred him.

-------------------------------------------------

It was decided that Lynn would pay for equipment expenses. She had said she would, that her father piled on a lot of money just in case something like this happened. In the next week they would need to each get whatever equipment they needed. Lynn had suggested they opt for silenced automatics, but Snake had turned down that idea saying that movement was more important than firepower, considering the whole aim of the operation was to avoid shooting anyone in the first place.

So Lynn had agreed when M9 tranquilizer dart guns were suggested by Otacon. Even Andrea was being forced to carry one. Apparently it had been the weapon of choice for Snake during his infiltration of the oil tanker all those years ago. That, a few smoke grenades, Chaffs, and a duo of GPS, encrypted-channel two way radios that could be given to the two girls. They were compatible with Snake's Codec, so communication wasn't going to be a problem. Everyone was also going to be wearing some Kevlar-like body armor, but it was slightly thinner, denser, and stronger.

Then there was the specific things each person needed, like Andrea wanted to have a small backpack filled with everything and anything she'd ever need for a field emergency. Lynn seemed to know what she was doing, as she wrote down her own list of things, including a digital camera, some night vision goggles (they had planned to go in at night), and left it up to Otacon to produce something that they could use to hack into any security systems they encountered, or to plunder computers for information without being detected. Lynn still wanted to take a more powerful weapon just in case, so one silenced sub-machine gun was on the list as well. Snake himself wanted his sneaking suit cleaned, and some more ammo for his sacred SOCOM. Besides that, Snake was good. He was the stealth expert here--although Lynn was good, Snake was undeniably better and more experienced.

The last important thing on the list was some sort of combat uniform. Civilian clothes certainly wouldn't do the trick, special uniforms were needed for the two girls that could suppress noise, keep their visibility to a minimum, and store many things on their person. Like what Snake had, but newer.

Other than that, there were a few loose odds and ends that needed to be picked up, all listed with exact quantities.

And thus, the planning stages mostly over with, it was quite late. After everyone had taken a shower, they set up for some sleep. Otacon headed off into the bedroom, Snake took up the most comfortable bit of floor he could find, and Lynn just…well, there was no way to describe it other than 'went to sleep.' She had fallen down onto the couch again after stumbling out of the shower, in a sitting position, the same spot she had been sitting previously. Andrea was forced to try and sleep on the other end, and Snake had a sneaking suspicion she'd end up just like she did that morning.

Snake was laying basically horizontally, minus the small rolled-up sheet he was substituting a pillow with. He closed his eyes, thinking about the next day to come.

The following day was going to be their search for uniforms, and Snake's chance to have his repaired and cleaned. He needed someone in the proper profession to do that. That, and Lynn said she'd try and teach some basics to Andrea about stealth, and how to use the M9.

_What a way to have their first date,_ Snake thought sarcastically to himself.

------------------------------------------------------

Jack, otherwise known as Raiden, laid awake on his bed that night, Rose curled up around him.

It had not been because of a nightmare that he was awake, no, those had stopped (well, dropped in occurrence) when he and the legendary Solid Snake had put an end to Arsenal Gear.

It was because he was reminiscing about those times, that kept him up. He had left FoxHound, and now had lots of free time to spend with Rose. It was like getting to know her all over again.

The baby that was due in two months would also be sure to change their lives. Jack was glad that he could finally settle down and start a family.

Raiden hadn't been in contact with Snake since the Big Shell/Arsenal incident, but Raiden was still worried about Olga Gurlukovich's own child. Snake had said that if he found any solid leads, he'd follow them… but how long would that take? He felt for Olga because of his own lover's pregnancy. Maybe he worried too much, maybe he was right. He didn't know.

Raiden was glad, though, that he had left FoxHound. It had given him a chance to not only discover Rose, but discover himself as well.

What he had discovered was that he felt like something was missing in his life.

"Jack, are you awake again?" Rose said groggily from beside him. She snuggled closer to him, and he smiled.

"Sorry…" he said. "It's just…"

"Not another nightmare, is it?" Rose asked worryingly, frowning.

"No, not that," Jack replied. He looked sideways at his lover. "I'm just worried about Olga's child, you know?"

"You're going to make a great father, you know that?" Rose teased, kissing Jack on the cheek. He patted Roses' bare stomach, which had quite a bulge to it.

"Really?" he asked half-seriously.

"Of course," Rose answered softly. Raiden felt something akin to relief . He turned to face Rose, feeling that he was finally able to fall asleep.

Author's Note: That's right, folks! What, you didn't think Raiden would be in this? It wouldn't be Metal Gear without him! Find out what the girls pick out to wear when they go shopping--uh oh, girls+shoppinglarge debt. I hope Lynn's credit card can hold out…lol


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Seventh Chapter, ladies and gentlemen! This far along and no one seems to want to read…

**Chapter 7: Perseverance**

Snake woke up that morning, his neck bent at an odd angle. He checked the time on the beaten up clock that hung on the far wall, near the door. Six o'clock, give or take a few minutes. Snake was amazed that his body could wake up so methodically every morning.

Once again, just like Snake had suspected, Andrea had once again unconsciously buried her face in Lynn's shoulder, all drawn in and curled up. Snake found it cute.

Lynn, however, had not moved much, still in the same position she was initially in. She even _slept_ like a soldier. The word _Army brat_ came out of nowhere into Snake's head. Snake pulled out his bag of cigarettes and lit one up.

A few minutes later, Otacon came groggily out of the bedroom. He turned on his computer monitor on his way to the kitchen. Snake stood up, stretching his old, pained limbs, and went off to take a shower.

The bathroom door shut, not loudly, but just enough to cause the petite medic to stir a little. The movement caught Otacon's eye as he set up a coffee maker (that had been generously donated to them by a neighbor) to make some coffee. Otacon stopped for a second, seeing how the younger girl was entwined around the tough chick's arm. He gave a short laugh and resumed with his coffee making.

This time, however, it was Lynn who woke up first. Despite the fact that loss of blood would generally make you sleep a hell of a lot longer than most people, Lynn seemed to wake up instantaneously. She noticed the younger girl wedged into her side, and gave a strong jerk to free her arm. This, of course, caused Andrea to wake up as well, as she collapsed forward. She surveyed the position she was in, and backed away quickly in embarrassment.

"S-sorry," she mumbled, turning a now-familiar shade of red.

"Any of you girls interested in some coffee?" Otacon called from the kitchen.

"Um, thank you," Andrea replied. "So, you said that today…we get our outfits?"

"That's the plan," Otacon answered. "Or, at least for you three. I never go on field missions."

"The information analyst and intelligence," Lynn said. "Important for operations like this."

"That's not all I do, I can hack into any system, as long as it's connected to the internet, from right here in my own--" Otacon looked around with a little disgust "--home."

Minutes passed, and Snake came out of the shower dressed in some of his normal clothes. Though, a muscle shirt and camo pants hardly passed as 'normal' to most people's standards. Andrea was given a steaming cup of coffee, of which she took a small sip of.

"Okay, first thing's first," Otacon said, taking up residence in his chair, "you girls need a change of clothes. You can shower all you want, it's the clothes that smell ripe."

"There's a washer and dryer downstairs, but the coinage is up to you," Snake said.

"I can lend you some clothes while you're waiting," Otacon suggested. "I have all kinds of stuff that's probably small enough for you."

"Lynn, I doubt you know how to use a washer and dryer, so Andrea, it looks like you're on laundry detail," Snake said gruffly.

"O-okay," Andrea replied.

"Come on and I'll lift out the clothes." Otacon left his now-empty mug on the computer desk and trotted into his room. Lynn stood up, and uneasily waned to the side. Andrea was immediately up and under her shoulder. The two followed Otacon into the room. Snake watched them leave and hid his bag of cigarettes somewhere safe.

Otacon lifted out several pieces of clothing and laid them out on his bed.

"Well, that's about it," he said. "I'll leave you two to change." With that, Otacon strode out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Andrea's face was comparable in color to a red rose when she realized what she and Lynn were going to be changing at the same time--talk about akward. She fumbled through the clothes, trying to find something small enough for her, and finding something that fit her needs, she turned around--

--and saw Lynn methodically taking off her clothes. Andrea quickly turned the other way, but glanced back. She faced away from Lynn, and it took up all her courage to strip herself of her own clothes. She used one of Otacon's shirts to cover herself up while changing, but when she chanced another look back at Lynn, well…apparently discretion meant nothing to Lynn. She was completely naked.

Andrea tried to finish changing and forget Lynn's athletic, well-built body, minus the bullet wound. Even after changing, Andrea didn't turn around again until she was sure Lynn was fully re-clothed. Another glance back confirmed this. Her face was still red as she watched Lynn stumble out into the living room.

Andrea collected both their clothes absent-mindedly, and carried them out into the living room as well.

"The laundry room's on the bottom floor, you shouldn't have any trouble finding it," Otacon said. He handed over some laundry detergent and some fabric softener. He opened the door for her. She then walked down the hallway. She had a chance to look herself over in Otacon's clothes; while they were the smallest she could find, the pants were extremely baggy and the shirt she had on came down three quarters of the way between her hips and her knees. For Lynn, however, the clothes seemed to fit her perfectly.

The image of Lynn changing once again ran through Andrea's mind, and she almost dropped the pile of clothing.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Otacon was checking his Email, Lynn had taken up residence on Snake's couch again, and Snake himself had the opportunity to sit down on it while the younger girl was doing laundry for herself and her companion.

"Has that guy given a reply yet?" Snake asked Otacon, referring to the guy who was supposed to have replied to Otacon's Email.

"No, it doesn't look like it," Otacon said as he leafed through his inbox.

Snake, while not wanting to leave his precious couch, decided to get up and ruffle through the cupboards for something to eat. Finding nothing but a box of plain Raisin Bran, he readied four bowls. He carried two back to Otacon and Lynn; at first Lynn refused but Snake forced it upon her. Snake then fetched his own bowl, leaving the last for Andrea when she came back up.

The morning went by rather quickly, and Andrea had made her second trip downstairs. The girls were now back in their own clothing, and Snake was busy folding up his Sneaking Suit. Lynn had said she knew someone who could clean and repair it for him.

The three set off, Snake and Andrea following behind Lynn. Their first stop was to be the specialist for Snake's suit, in which he would leave the group and wait for his suit back.

"Okay, where is this 'specialist' you said could fix my Sneaking Suit?" Snake asked, his suit secure inside a backpack. All three of them had one.

"A man who used to be under the command of someone my father worked with," Lynn replied. "He's had extensive experience working with top military combat outfits, so yours should be no problem."

"I see," Snake said. "So how far are we--"

Snake was cut short as Lynn abruptly turned and entered what appeared to be a dry-cleaner shop.

"That was fast," Snake remarked. The walk had taken five minutes from Philanthropy HQ.

A rather bored-looking heavily built guy with a crew cut was sitting at the desk, reading a magazine that appeared to be centered around automatic weapons.

"Can I help you?" the man said in a deep, bored voice. His face seemed to lighten up when he saw Lynn. "Oh, the Warrant Officer's daughter," he said with interest. "Haven't seen you in years. Tell me, how is the old guy, anyways?"

"He's in Iraq," Lynn said matter-of-factly. The guy grinned slyly.

"So," the guy said, eyeing the other two, "anything _special_ I can help you with?"

"This man needs his Sneaking Suit repaired and cleaned," Lynn replied.

"Ah, if I'm thinking right, you're Solid Snake, right?" the man said. Snake bristled.

"Am I that popular?" Snake asked.

"Relax," the guy said. "I do a little research of my own." He gestured for the suit, and although suspicious, Snake pulled it out of his pack and handed it over. The guy examined it. "Custom, huh? Nicely done, too." He folded it up and put it on a shelf under the desk. "So, what do you want done, just a clean up and repair?"

"Yeah," Snake replied.

"Stick around for an hour, and I'll have it ready."

"I'd like to pay in advance, because there are other things that need to be done today," Lynn said.

"Don't worry about it," the guy said, pushing away the credit card when Lynn set it down on the table. "I owe Peterson, so this one's on the house. You okay? You look a little pale."

"Bullet wound," Lynn said as if it was nothing. Rather than having some horror-stricken expression on his face, he just sighed and shook his head. "Sloppy, Recruit."

Lynn took the credit card back. Lynn left, Andrea following behind. Snake spotted a chair, and sat down.

"What's with the job?" Snake asked.

"It pays the bills," the guy grunted.

Outside, Lynn walked uneasily forward.

"How long of a walk is it?" Andrea asked gently, ready to stop the heavy girl from falling if she lost balance.

"A three hour walk," Lynn replied.

"I-I think we should take the bus," Andrea suggested. "It'll be faster."

Lynn seemed to have agreed, because they continued and stopped at a bus stop that was frequented by the right line. A small old lady was also there, and was looking at the two girls suspiciously. Andrea nervously avoided her stare. Lynn, though, didn't seem to take notice of the old lady as she used one arm against a post to support herself.

The bus came a few minutes later. Andrea had the sneaking suspicion that Lynn had never used public transportation before, so she hastily dropped in fare for the both of them. The bus driver leaned out to glance at Lynn as she half-fell into an empty seat. Andrea sat beside her.

The long bus ride was filled with uneasy stares from people, so Andrea had looked to the floor for the most part. Lynn had seemed to stare out the window the whole time.

The bus stopped at the closest stop to their destination, and Lynn staggered off. Andrea followed, as the bus driver shut the doors and continued on his route. Lynn rounded a corner, and unsteadily crossed the street to what looked like a gun shop. Lynn went inside, and Andrea was hesitant at first. But she knew she had to go in, so she entered the shop.

It turned out it wasn't just a gun shop, that it sold many things, from uniforms, to helmets, to small arms. All on the legal side, of course.

The shop itself was quite rustic; brown was the natural color scheme of the place. Wood floors, walls, and counters were accented by the dim lighting.

"Can I see some I.D.?" the guy at the counter said, eying Andrea. She got very nervous, as she was only seventeen. The fact that the guy looked aggressive, with his bald head and moustache/beard didn't help. He had a tattoo of a helmet on a pike on his head.

"Is Sergeant O'Brian here?" Lynn asked, stopping at the counter. A look of surprise crossed the man's face.

"Who are you?" he asked, suddenly very serious looking. "Stay where you are," he said, and disappeared behind a set of heavy, dark brown drapes. He reappeared a couple seconds later with an older guy, who was wearing fatigues, and had very short shorn hair. Dog tags dangled down his neck.

"Recruit," the older guy said, setting his hands down on the wooden counter. "What are you doing here?"

"We need some combat uniforms, Sir," Lynn replied evenly. "Eventually some more hardware, but for now just something that's fit for stealth and combat."

"A mission, huh?" the older guy said. "Glad to see you're keeping busy." He jerked his head, motioning for the two girls to come to the back. The bald guy gave the older guy a strange stare.

"By the way, who's your girlfriend?" the old guy called from the back as Lynn parted the curtains. Andrea blushed--why did people keep making that mistake? Was it because Lynn was so…unfeminine?

"Recruit Delintoro, Sir," Lynn replied. "She was also stationed at the base. I was ordered to assist her in finding somewhere that sold medical supplies, and now she refuses to RTB."

"R-RTB?" Andrea asked quietly.

"Return to Base," the older guy explained the acronym. "Anyways," he said to Lynn, "yo wouldn't have her with you without a good reason. And fill me in on why you came to me for a high end stealth uniform."

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to tell you, Sir."

"Why's that?" the guy asked, stopping in front of a large closet.

"National security," Lynn replied simply. That statement sunk into Andrea's head and made her realize just how big the situation was that she had gotten herself into.

_No, I can't back out now,_ Andrea thought to herself. She had resolved to see whatever happened through to the end, she wasn't about to break that resolve.

"Eighteen and already fighting for national security," the guy muttered to himself. "I take it this isn't a mission you're father's sending you on?"

"No Sir."

"Didn't think so. Anyways, what exactly are you two looking for? What specifics?"

"I require something that suppresses noise during movement, without being too hindering or restrictive. As well, it should have light caliber resistance, and be fairly invisible against most surfaces. Preferably something of high quality."

"You're asking me for something very expensive," the older guy said.

"With all do respect, Sergeant O'Brian, that's exactly what I need."

"I have almost everything ever made, but I have something that's just been designed," the old Sergeant replied. He pulled some keys out of his pocket and opened up the closet doors. A large and expansive room opened before Andrea.

"I hope your little friend here understands that what she sees here does not leave this room," O'Brian said. Andrea suspected that most of the merchandise was Black Market stuff.

"I-I do, Sir," Andrea replied quietly.

"Okay," O'Brian said, and lifted out a dark outfit. "This is fresh from the government's best scientific minds," he said. The suit was black, yet seemed to resonate otherwise. "It has an expensive new polyester that makes it hard to see, especially at night. Standard pockets and storage capacity, with all the specifications you asked for. However--" he pointed to denser, harder sections positioned around the suit "--certain areas of the suit offer stronger defense to projectiles. The chest, groin, outer legs, back, knee, and elbows all have a high-density material that's easily twice the strength of Kevlar. With this, body armor isn't needed. It frees up some weight on you and allows for greater movement. Also, and this is my favourite part, the fabric is light-sensitive and will react if it senses a laser target anywhere on it by sending a slight jolt of electricity into that part of the body." He then lifted out some boots. "These things are no laughing matter either. Made almost entirely out of the same stuff as that suit's armor, they're water resistant, shock-proof, and most importantly, you can stomp this sucker down on hollow metal and it doesn't make a sound." To demonstrate his point, he slammed a boot into the wooden wall, and all that sounded out was a very dull thud.

Andrea looked at Lynn, who was looking at the suit with intensity. While most girls fell in love with cute mini-skirts, it was kind of the same way Lynn felt about the stealth suit.

"Unfortunately though," O'Brian said with a sigh, "this ensemble's going to cost you a large ten grand."

"It fits the requirements," Lynn said simply. "Now we need something for Recruit Delintoro."

"Specifics?" O'Brian asked again.

"She will be needing something that offers similar protection, but more mobile and not that much ammo storage; something tailored to store medical equipment."

"A field medic, huh?" O'Brian said, sizing up the small girl. "She knows some medicine?"

"She has her Medical Certificate," Lynn replied. O'Brian's face lit up with surprise.

"No wonder you're letting her tag along. Usually you're such a loner. I'm glad you have a friend."

"Hardly. Like I said, she refuses to leave."

"Remind you of anyone?" O'Brian said with a smile. "Now, I'm sure I have something to fit those requirements, but the problem is size. I never thought I'd have to outfit a small seventeen year old." He leafed through a rack of uniforms. He pulled out a dark grey one, one that looked like it would fit Andrea. "This might do, but it was a defect that I was supposed to send back. It's not meant to be this small. But nothing should be wrong with it in terms of performance. It's brand new, similar fiber to yours, but a lot lighter and easier to move around in. It's also less protected than yours, it only has armor for the chest." He looked at a small slip of paper attached to it. "This one's quite expensive too, though, it was introduced three years ago. Running price of Seven and a half grand." He pulled out something from a large square chest that lay against the left wall. "Though, I'll throw in a proper supply backpack and similar boots for free." He set all the merchandise on a table.

"I'll be paying with my father's emergency funds," Lynn said, producing the credit card.

"The bill will say you bought a random assortment of display weapons," he said, running through the credit card on his computer, using some strange non-legal device.

It had just then hit Andrea that Lynn just spent seven and a half thousand dollars on her, for just a uniform alone. Andrea silently swore to herself that she would be helpful during their coming mission.

"By the way, are you okay?" O'Brian asked, as he neatly folded up the uniforms and disguised them by putting them in two suitcases.

"Bullet wound," Lynn said for the second time that day.

"Just getting shot wouldn't do that to _you_ of all people," O'Brian replied disbelievingly. "You look like you have cancer or something."

"She lost a lot of blood," Andrea spoke up. "It's a miracle she's walking."

"What happened, bullet hit a vein or something?" O'Brian asked. Andrea nodded.

"See you when you need the rest of your list of things," O'Brian said as the two left the shop.

"H-here," Andrea said, grabbing the two suitcases from Lynn, "let me carry them." Lynn didn't resist as both suitcases dropped into Andrea's hands. They were surprisingly lighter than Andrea had initially thought--most of the weight was from the suitcases themselves. The two walked to the same bus stop, and waited for their bus, this time luckily they were the only ones waiting for it.

It had reached late afternoon by the time they got back to Snake's apartment, and he was already waiting there with his suit all patched up and cleaned. It looked brand new.

"So what do we do for the rest of today?" Andrea asked Lynn gingerly as the suitcases were set down.

"Training you," Lynn replied. "You know absolutely nothing about stealth or sneaking missions. It is therefore my duty to train you."

"I'll do my best," Andrea replied heartedly.

"I'm not sure you can learn the basics in only a few days," Lynn said. "Training will be harsh and exhausting for you. I do not want to hear a single complaint or word of resistance. You will do exactly as I say and obey every order I give you." She looked at Andrea. "Can you grow up and do that?"

"Yes," Andrea replied. She was very serious about doing this.

Lynn slowly got up. "I need to contact a few people, if you're going to be taught in such a short time."

"Y-you mean it's not going to be just you teaching?" Andrea asked, surprised.

"A few people who trained me will try to make something out of you," Lynn replied, picking up the phone.

"Who's she calling?" Otacon asked Andrea silently, gesturing to Lynn.

"T-trainers, for me, I think," she replied. "She says I have a lot to learn."

"Well, do your best," Otacon said before continuing on to do whatever it was he was doing.

Thirty minutes later, Andrea and Lynn had met in a rather expansive gym that appeared as if everyone was just rushed out. The owner had been one of Lynn's trainers.

"I am Lieutenant Irv," the slim-but-heavy-built guy said. "I was a stealth expert while in the army, and my last apprentice was Lynn here. She turned out excellent. Now apparently you have some big 'mission' coming up in the near future, and I've learned in my life not to ask questions. Apparently you need to learn the basics of stealth in a few days, what usually takes a few months for even talented people to learn." He paused and grinned proudly. "Of course, they've never had me as their teacher."

Author's Note: Chapter Seven! The days leading up to the Manhattan Weapons Lab mission are starting to come into focus here. Until next chapter! 


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Dang, no one's been reading my story…Does it really not appeal to that many people? I wish they'd at least give it a try…

**Chapter 8: Providence**

As the day drew to a close, the blue Sedan pulled into another hotel; this one appearing to be higher class than the one Bonavero had spent the previous night in. Once again being chained to a bed after an exhaustingly long car ride, the rooms were the same way they were before: One for Bonavero and his guard, one for the other two, and a high-class suite for Ms. Forrester.

Bonavero hadn't actually had it as bad as he thought he would've, really all they were doing by handcuffing him to the bed was ensuring that he didn't run away. He hadn't been hit once, despite the rough-looking James Statham-looking guy that was always with him. He still had no idea what awaited him in Chicago, which he hoped they would get to soon so he could find out what was going on. His only contact was undoubtedly worried about him, and he was still half-hoping he would come after him.

But Bonavero knew not to get his hopes up. All he had really done was leave a small writing in the dust at the old facility in Manhattan. The chances that he'd be traced to Chicago were almost zero. But what if he did? What if he put an end to everything?

_Otacon, you have to find me._

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Andrea collapsed onto the couch after returning from the first stealth lessons. Lynn hadn't been joking when she said it would be hell--Andrea very much agreed. Andrea had been run through some basic drills that keep the notification of your presence to a minimum, and then Lynn forced her to do it at least a hundred times until it was near satisfactory. Stuff like moving from shadow to shadow, a concept that was used by experts all over the world.

Andrea, who wasn't naturally fit, had been forced through many exercises. Her legs were killing her, as were her arms, her thighs--her whole body hurt. She didn't even want to think about the days' training. All she wanted to do was take a shower and go to sleep. She knew the next day there was nothing important to do, so the whole day was going to be dedicated to stealth lessons. She whimpered, but managed to force herself to get up and walk to the bathroom. It was so late that both Snake and Otacon had hit the sack, but Otacon had left the door unlocked for the two girls when they got back. As a precaution, Snake had his SOCOM under his sheet-pillow.

Lynn poured a glass of water from the sink and downed it quickly. She poured a second, and downed that, too. The major blood loss had made her feel incredibly weak and for the first couple of hours of the next day after getting shot she had been very dizzy and light headed. She had thought she would've collapsed, but thankfully her body held up. And now it appeared as though she was regaining some of the vital red stuff. Already she felt herself getting stronger; by the end of the night she was almost able to walk steadily without holding anything for support or waning to the side. The pain in her shoulder where the bullet wound was had almost disappeared.

The guys who were teaching Andrea had told Lynn to sit the session out, to at least take one more day. Lynn sensed it wasn't just a suggestion, so she had complied, not wanting to defy her ex-trainer.

Lynn was suitably impressed with the young medic's learning rate; Lynn thought she would've dropped out in the first class. Usually underestimation wasn't prominent in Lynn's judgment, but apparently Delintoro had more potential than initially thought. Perhaps it was because she was still young and unexposed to real combat, that Lynn had underestimated her. With the proper training, Lynn wondered if the girl would be useful for something other than looking after field operative's well being.

Then again, there were telltale signs that said otherwise. She didn't have any aggressiveness, she always seemed to be so quiet and timid. Those attributes were sure signs that Andrea could be trained properly. The stealth skills she needed to learn maybe, but Lynn doubted she could be turned into a soldier.

Lynn finished her fourth glass of water and went to the couch. Lynn was able to sleep anywhere, even on broken glass. Snake's couch barely had enough room for Lynn and Andrea. Lynn had woken up that morning with the young medic wrapped around her arm and using her shoulder like some sort of pillow. It had been very odd for Lynn, as her life's experiences had caused her to detach from the world. She never had, nor wanted, someone to touch her unless it was their intent to harm her. Alone is the way Lynn had always been, operating on her own volition. The only people she let tell her what to do was her superiors in rank, and when someone made a suggestion that made sense.

And Solid Snake seemed to make a lot of sense. The man was a hardened veteran, Lynn had no doubt about that, and she had come to somewhat respect him and listen to what he had to say. And although this Hal Emmerich guy didn't know anything about combat, he had been the designer for a Metal Gear, so his advice related to that was definitely worth listening to. He didn't seem full of himself, or over-confident. Two things that people charged with the task of intelligence shouldn't have; over-confidence and pride.

Lynn had been on the couch for a few minutes when she noticed the young medic gingerly sit at the other end, and sink in.

The next morning came, and Snake awoke to find the same thing--Andrea wrapped around Lynn's arm. Snake figured he had better wake the small medic before Lynn woke up and noticed, so Snake gave her leg a slight nudge with his foot. She stirred, and opened her eyes.

"S-Snake?" she asked groggily, her soft voice riddled with the tell-tale signs of someone waking up. She then noticed how she was positioned. She backed away, nearly falling off the couch. "S-sorry," Andrea said pink-faced, "I don't know w-why that keeps happening…"

Snake ignored her and went into the kitchen. Yet again, like some sort of sadistic ritual, Snake had opened his eyes at six. He could've sworn his body was trying to line him up to get exactly at six o'clock--this morning it had been 5:58.

Snake had already gotten his nicotine fix for the morning, so he stretched out his old kinked joints. Fighting with giant walking tanks certainly had taken its toll on him over the years.

Snake noticed also that he needed a shave. He'd do that later, once Lynn was off to teach Stealth 101. That's what snake had dubbed it, he needed something to call the 'classes.'

Otacon and Lynn woke up within the next ten or so minutes, and Otacon performed his daily ritual of making coffee. As usual Lynn and Snake didn't want any, but Andrea kindly partook of Otacon's generosity. Everyone, however, accepted a bowl of Raisin Bran. Showers were rushed that morning, as Lynn wanted to get out and have an early start on Stealth 101; the more training the better.

So when Lynn had ushered her to get ready, Andrea smiled weakly and followed Lynn out the door. Snake had checked the time; it was 7:30 when they left. Now, for the first time in a few days, it was going to be completely eventless. Snake then had an idea. He gathered up some clothes and rushed out the door after Lynn and Andrea.

Lynn and Andrea had made it about halfway to the 'studio,' when Snake had shown up beside them. Snake figured he could give some advice. He had told Lynn he had nothing better to do that day, and Lynn had said since stealth missions were his specialty, his expertise would be helpful.

Snake surveyed the gym when the three got there. The gym had been closed down for the entire day just for Andrea's classes. A few of the trainers were there, some more were still due to come. Snake surveyed the lot. Snake suppressed a shiver when he thought that these were the kind of people Lynn had been raised by. No loving mother, just a man teaching another way to kill.

"Hello sir, what can I do for you?" the owner of the gym asked energetically, looking at Snake.

"I'm with them," he said gruffly, gesturing towards the two girls.

"He'll be aiding you today, as he has extreme knowledge of stealth and invisibility," Lynn answered for Snake.

"I see," the gym owner said. "Well, we're waiting for some more men to arrive, so just sit around and burn off the morning grogginess in the meantime." He turned to Andrea. "And as for you, I would like you to run through the exercises you were taught yesterday as a warm-up." Andrea trotted off to practice what she had learned. One of the trainers supervised.

The rest of the trainers showed up within half an hour, and then the hell really began for Andrea. Snake new that she had much to learn in less than a week, but still…Snake was amazed the poor girl was managing to hang on. Twice in the first two hours she needed water desperately, as she was taught movements, how to tell what's useful for invisible movement, and whatnot.

Occasionally, during he training, Snake would step in and manually show the girl how it was supposed to be done, while other times he just offered advice. Mid-day there was a half-hour break, and Andrea collapsed onto a mat. A lecture was next, giving Andrea a break from the physical training, where she would be told an abbreviated version of the history of using sneaking instead of fighting, how to stay camouflaged, and many other useful tricks.

The lecture was all stuff Snake already knew, but all of it was important for Andrea to learn if they wanted to infiltrate without being noticed.

--------------------------------------

Gagarin was enjoying his nap when one of his associates awakened him. He sat up unevenly; his body just refused to stop aching every time he woke up.

"What is it?" Gagarin asked solemnly.

"It's Ocelot," the associate said, and handed over Gagarin's cell phone.

"Ocelot," Gagarin said, sounding more like an acknowledgement than a greeting.

"I didn't mean to wake you, Gagarin," Ocelot said intensely, "But I thought you should know things aren't going as smoothly with the PDA as planned."

"How so?" Gagarin replied.

"There's more encryption to this PDA than initially realized. Our experts are having a field day trying to get past the protection on this thing. It may take a few more days."

"So be it," Gagarin responded, grumpy that he had been woken up for this small news flash. He hung up the cell phone and angrily tossed it to his associate, who fumbled with it before putting it in their pocket.

The plan was, if the PDA had any information on it about where Metal Gear Shadow was being kept, or any information about it, Gagarin would use that to his advantage and storm the facility. But it wasn't for sure that the piece of technology even had it's whereabouts on it. Lots of protection, yes, but it may have been a diversion to direct their attention from something else. Perhaps he would send some of his men to investigate the Manhattan Weapons Lab further and more closely than before…

----------------------------------

By the end of the day, Andrea had exhausted herself so much she couldn't move. She knew it wasn't good for her health, but she had sworn she wouldn't give up.

Andrea whimpered silently as Lynn picked her up off of the floor. Because Lynn was still fairly weak, she was forced to drape her over her shoulder. The three left the gym, Lynn carrying a sweaty and strained Andrea, who had passed out. Snake followed behind, amazed that the girl had managed to survive the day's teachings. For such a small girl, she certainly was a real firecracker.

When Snake, Andrea, and Lynn arrived back at the apartment, Otacon was busy making a rather large vat of mac n' cheese. Bowls were served out to everyone, except Andrea who was laid out on the couch.

"Please tell me you've had macaroni and cheese before," Snake said, eyeing Lynn, who seemed to be inspecting the yellow noodles. She stayed silent and started eating.

"So tomorrow," Otacon said, who was eating at the computer desk, "you're going shopping for weapons?"

Snake turned to Lynn.

"The way thing's will work is Snake will come with me to see Sergeant O'Brian and give him a list of everything he'll need," Lynn said. "All items in question will be delivered to a storage facility, and we will be given the keys. It'll be a 24 hours place, so we should be able to get prepared and leave from that locale."

"What are we going to do for transportation?" Snake asked. "We can't just walk from there to the weapon's facility wearing our combat uniforms."

"I can have Sergeant O'Brian arrange for that as well," Lynn answered. "He used to do all sorts of things for my father when we went on training missions."

The rest of the night passed by with not much else to do. Otacon had put on an anime movie, while Lynn did some exercises and Snake inspected his SOCOM. Andrea, when she had finally woken up, had stumbled over to the computer to watch whatever Japanimation it was that Otacon was watching. Otacon was glad that there was someone who finally shared his appreciation for it; Snake always frowned upon it.

After that, after everyone had taken a shower, it was time to sleep again. Lynn said stiffly in her spot on the couch asleep, Snake grunted over on the floor, Otacon was in his bed, and Andrea slowly drifted over to Lynn as the night progressed.

And, as the next morning approached, as usual, Snake seemed to come to consciousness at six o'clock on the second. So, he got up and went to take his shower early. He didn't even think to wake up Andrea; he had failed to notice that once again she was sleeping in a compromising position. This time, though, as Lynn was sleeping in a sitting position, somehow Andrea had managed to end up sprawled across Lynn's lap.

Luckily, though, it had been Andrea to wake up first, and she had her normal embarrassed reaction as she stumbled back and fell of the couch. She winced from the pain that then spread throughout her body from the previous day's rigorous exercises. She struggled to get up, and sat back down on the couch; though mentally trying to stay as close to the end as possible.

Otacon soon woke up after that, and came groggily out into the living room, turning on the computer monitor.

"I have to work today," Otacon said, passing by Snake as he came out of the shower. "I'll be back later tonight. Let me know how things go today." Otacon left.

Lynn was the last to wake up, her eyes just all of a sudden opening up. Andrea meandered over to the kitchen area and poured three bowls of cereal, which was now almost gone. She handed one to Snake, one to Lynn, and of course kept the last one.

"When do you want to go to see this 'O'Brian' guy?" Snake asked gruffly after a mouthful of Raisin Bran.

"Preferably soon," Lynn replied. "I want to continue with Andrea's training today as well." Andrea gave an inaudible whimper.

------------------------------------

Yet another day of being stuck in the blue Sedan, Bonavero was told that by the end of the day they should be in Chicago. There, Bonavero was certain whatever awaited him lay. So as the long and boring ride continued, Bonavero couldn't help but wonder what Otacon had been doing for the past few days. Surely he would've traced some sort of lead back to the Manhattan weapons facility, or at least he hoped. There, Bonavero hoped that the message he had written in the dust in the unused office still stayed, untouched by the building's many occupants.

Ms. Forrester still refused to tell Bonavero exactly why they were going to Chicago, but he suspected it had something to do with the deal that went down in the restaurant that one day. Bonavero hadn't heard anything about what occurred; they had simply come back, and left for Chicago.

Which put Bonavero where he was now.

"Ma'am, we'll be there by early evening, depending on traffic," Adam spoke over the noise of the engine.

"We're making good time, thanks to your excellent driving," Ms. Forrester replied coolly.

Adam pulled into yet another restaurant, and went inside to gather food for them all. Truth be told, Bonavero had been fed well, though most of the time he wasn't hungry. Despite being slightly chubby, it was because of his low digestion rate that caused the excess girth. A bag of Styrofoam containers was dropped into Bonavero's lap, as was one into Ms. Forrester's and the two men beside Bonavero.

Adam started up the car, and they continued on their journey.

-------------------------------------

Yuri and Czechov, two Russian men in their early thirties, checked out of their hotel that morning so that they could make the last bit of travel needed to get to Manhattan. When Gagarin had phoned them up for a job, they had appreciatively accepted. Now, as the two blonde brothers exited the hotel, they piled into the car Gagarin had loaned them.

"Where do we start to look?" Czechov asked his brother, his voice thick with a Russian accent.

"I don't fucking know," the other brother replied. "Boss didn't give us location, only said that they were hanging around in Manhattan, near where deal went down." Yuri looked at his brother. "Brother, don't worry, Boss knows it take few days to find targets."

"I do not want failure," Czechov said to his brother.

"Boss ask us to do job, we do job," Yuri replied simply as he started up the car. "It simple, yes?"

"Kill two little girls and Solid Snake", Czechov recited.

"Exactly. Two little girls sound easy, but Snake is problem. We need plan." The car started to drive away. "Problem, but easy."

Author's Note: Uh oh! Gagarin's killers are on the hunt for Lynn, Snake, and Andrea! Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Oooh, I just can't hold it in anymore: You should be expecting some major plot points later in the story; it's going to be a while before we get there, but it has to do with Lynn…

**Chapter 9: Consequence **

Snake and Andrea followed Lynn out the door, who by now, was managing to walk quite well on her own. They left the apartment building, and approached the proper bus stop.

The three must've looked strange, because there was a couple at the bus stop that seemed to be staring at them suspiciously. They were the only other people at the bus stop though, and it didn't seem to bother anyone except Andrea.

The bus came some time later, and the three lumbered on (poor Andrea was forced to pay bus fare yet again), and found a trio of seats. The bus pulled out from the curb and continued on its planned route.

The whole ride was relatively quiet, as the two girls and Snake got off and headed towards the military shop across the street.

"Welcome back," O'Brian said when he emerged from the heavy curtains to see Lynn and Andrea. He eyed the larger fellow. "Who's he?"

"Dave," Snake replied before anyone else could. Not everyone needed to know who he truly was--he didn't want a name for himself, damnit. Not like the Tanker incident helped any. Damn Ocelot.

"He'll be assisting us on our mission," Lynn said.

"Anyways," O'Brian said, casting Snake a suspicious glance, "I take it you're here to order the rest of your equipment?"

"Yes, Sir," Lynn answered. She produced the 'shopping list.' O'Brian read it over.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can get everything on this list," he said. "It'll cost you a pretty penny, but…" He wrote down a price on a piece of paper.

"It will be covered," Lynn said, examining the numerical value. She handed over the credit card, and O'Brian ran it through his funky little machine.

"Okay, now as far as the delivery goes, you know the storage facility just down the road?" O'Brian asked.

"Yeah," Snake replied.

"All items will be delivered there," O'Brian explained. "Everything should be there in two day's time; I'll mail you the key to get in."

"One other thing," Lynn said. "We need transportation from the storage facility to our target."

"Transportation?" O'Brian echoed. "I'll see what I can do…but I need to know where your destination is."

"The Manhattan Forrester Weapons Lab."

"Chri--what the hell business do you have there!" O'Brian exclaimed. He then recollected himself. "Sorry," he said in a lower tone, "I have no business knowing what's going to go down."

"We will contact you about a meeting time," Lynn said. She then turned and walked out of the shop. Snake and Andrea hurried to follow.

"T-that's it?" Andrea asked.

"All we did is place an order," Snake replied. "Nothing time-consuming about it."

"So t-that means…" Andrea said, trailing off. She looked at Lynn.

"Stealth training time," Snake answered evily. Andrea forced a weak smile as they approached the bus stop.

"Is the training working?" Snake asked.

"She's learning," Lynn replied.

"I know that, but will she be able to _apply_ what she's learned?" Snake asked.

"Maybe," Lynn replied. The bus rounded the corner in the distance.

"I need certainty," Snake responded.

"I'll have a performance check," Lynn said. "A simulation of what a real mission would actually be like."

"S-simulation?" Andrea asked worriedly.

"A test," Lynn replied, "to see if you can actually use what you've learned." Andrea looked worried.

Snake stayed on the bus to ride it all the way home, while Lynn and Andrea got off the bus at the closest stop to the gym. It was a short five minute walk from the stop to the gym; Andrea's nervousness was building up the closer they got to the gym.

By the time they reached the gym, Andrea was noticeably shaking. She was trying to calm herself down, but today was a test. She knew she couldn't afford to fail whatever they threw her way.

Andrea saw Lynn look at her suspiciously. She tried desperately to stop shaking, but it wouldn't work.

Andrea and Lynn entered the gym.

----------------------------------------

"Where we go now?" Czechov asked, standing outside the front gates of the Manhattan army base. "Girls not there, they say they haven't been back for while."

"So they not here," Yuri replied, his Russian accent dominating his speech.

"Where we look now?"

"We search hotels," Yuri replied evenly. The two hitmen walked down the path to their car.

"If they're with Solid Snake, they might not be in hotel," Czechov suggested.

"Boss wants methodical search," Yuri explained. "We do hotels, it's job."

"Searching hotels will take too long," Czechov complained.

"Then it take long time," Yuri answered simply. "Come on, we take break and get lunch."

The two hitmen piled in their car and headed off to the first restaurant they could find, which ended up being a burger joint.

"Can I take your order?" the young guy at the corner asked in a bored tone. The two Russians took their time deciding on the places' many burger variations. The guy at cashier sighed impatiently, probably waiting for the end of his shift.

"What you want?" Yuri asked.

"Why, you buying?" Czechov replied, studying the menu board above the cashier's head.

"I guess, must treat brother some times."

"Free meal, at last," Czechov joked. He turned to the cashier. "I take combo 3," he said simply, and stood aside for his brother.

Once his brother chose his meal and paid for their food, they walked over to a quiet little corner and sat down.

The two men took juicy bites out of their burgers.

-----------------------------------

It was around 2:34 in the afternoon when Ocelot phoned Gagarin.

"Speak," Gagarin had said, answering his phone.

"Gagarin, I've discovered something you might find very interesting," Ocelot said intensely.

"Did you manage to find out what's on the PDA?" Gagarin asked hopefully.

"No, not yet, our men are still working on that," Ocelot replied, but brushed the issue away. "This issue is pertaining to that one girl, the one who's working with Solid Snake."

"Which one?" Gagarin asked.

"Janice Lynn," Ocelot replied. "I had some of my own men dig deep into any files regarding Lynn, her father, or relatives. And I came across something you might find very interesting."

"What?" Gagarin asked.

Gagarin's face paled a bit from what Ocelot's reply was.

"A-are you sure?" Gagarin stuttered. "Her father was a L--"

"--Yes, he was," Ocelot replied.

"It was my understanding that it was only the three of them," Gagarin exclaimed. All color had left his face. "Surely there must be some mistake--"

"--There is no mistake, the DNA confirms it, he is the fourth," Ocelot said. "I thought there was only three as well."

"B-but why would he hide all these years?" Gagarin asked.

"Wanted to live a normal life, that's my guess," Ocelot replied. The line stayed silent for a minute.

"You're absolutely sure?" Gagarin asked, wanting to know that Ocelot was telling the truth.

"Yes," Ocelot replied. "I am one hundred percent certain of his ancestry, down to the last gene."

"But if what you say is true, how could he have a child?" Gagarin inquired. "I thought that trait had been specifically engineered out?"

"I don't know either," Ocelot replied. "I'm having the matter looked into, and you should add this man to your hitmen's list of people. He is more than likely in Manhattan as well, keeping an eye on his daughter."

"Can they even get close enough to try and kill him?" Gagarin wondered aloud.

"I trust your men can handle the job," Ocelot answered. "He's probably not one of the dominant ones, so handling him should be easy."

"I hope for your sake that you're right," Gagarin said. He hung up the cell phone, and immediately called up Yuri.

"Hello?" the man's thick Russian accent said over the phone.

"We have a large problem that needs to be taken care of right away," Gagarin said in a rushed tone.

"What is problem?" Yuri replied.

"There is another man you need to kill, in particular the father of Lynn, who's one of your current targets," Gagarin rushed. "He presents a danger to this whole operation!"

"What is name?" Yuri asked nonchalantly.

"Peterson Lynn," Gagarin answered. He steeled himself for what he was about to say.

"Yuri," Gagarin said in a worried voice, "Going up against one Snake is bad enough, two is not something I need to experience." He took a deep breath.

"Janice Lynn's father is a survivor of the 'Les Enfants Terribles' project. He is Solid Snake's genetic twin."

----------------------------------------------------------

That night, Andrea came home still shaking. She had done the simulation; she was forced to stick to the shadows and utilize everything she'd learned.

She didn't know what the evaluation of her performance was; she had asked, but nobody answered. She knew she didn't make much noise during the whole affair, but…

They entered the apartment, which was still devoid of Otacon. Snake was sitting on the couch having a smoke, reading the newspaper. Lynn sat down at the other end of the couch. Andrea used this opportunity to make a mad dash for the shower. No one opposed her, so she went ahead and closed the door.

"What were the results?" Snake asked gruffly. Lynn looked at Snake.

"Better than expected," Lynn said, "But she's got a lot to learn. And I don't know if her performance will be the same in the field."

"Do you think she's capable of maintaining her calm? Will she be able to be rational in dire situations?"

Lynn stayed silent.

"Let's see what the end of training says," Lynn said.

-----------------------------------------------------

O'Brian lifted up the phone that night to call overseas. He had finally made up his mind to do it. He had considered just leaving Lynn alone to do her mission, but… seeing Solid Snake with his own two eyes had jolted him out of his little world.

O'Brian dealt with the Iraqi operator and waited for the connection to go through. A gruff voice answered the phone.

"Can I speak to Warrant Officer Peterson Lynn, please?" O'Brian asked. "Tell him it's O'Brian."

"Hold on son," the voice said. There was a dull thud as the phone was set on a table. A few minutes passed.

"O'Brian," a gruff, hoarse voice finally said over the line, distorted by the many miles between them.

"Sir, you are not going to believe who I saw with your daughter today," O'Brian said.

"Lynn…" Peterson said. "What, did she have a lover with her?"

"No, don't be stupid," O'Brian said, "you raised her with any emotions conveniently stripped away." He paused. "Solid Snake was with her."

"Solid!" Peterson exclaimed. "Solid Snake was with my daughter? When?"

"Today," O'Brian said. "They were buying all kinds of equipment to infiltrate the Forrester Weapons Lab's Manhattan facility. I'm transporting them there within the next few days."

"O'Brian, do you know what their objective is?" Peterson asked intensively.

"I don't know, but Solid Snake was with her…what do you think?"

"Jesus…" Peterson said. "I've heard a rumor about Forrester Lab's involvement with a new Metal Gear project, but…"

"What should I do?" O'Brian inquired.

"Stay put and help them anyway you can. I'm packing as we speak to come back…"

"Sir? Is this really that big of a problem?" O'Brian asked.

"O'Brian, if you only knew…She is the sole genetic child of the Les Enfants Terribles, do you get that? Getting involved with Metal Gear…it must run in the blood. If anyone finds out that she is my daughter, that I was the only clone that could 'pass the torch…' the Patriots would capture her and experiment on her to see what genes got passed on and which ones didn't."

O'Brian stayed silent.

"O'Brian, I am ordering you to keep a distant eye on Lynn before I get there. The Patriots will undoubtedly be trying to obtain that Metal Gear…I can't hide in Iraq any longer."

"I'll keep an eye on her," O'Brian said. "Liquidus."

Author's Note: Oh! Booyah! Liquidus Snake! Oh! Booyah! Lynns his daughter! Wasn't expecting that, were ya?


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: Okay, I've unleashed one of the twists in the story last chapter! Still looking for reviews!

**Chapter 10: Silence**

After several more nights of Andrea snuggling up to Lynn in her sleep, Snake, Lynn, Otacon, and Andrea were ready. The night of the mission had drawn in, but it was a while before everyone (minus Otacon) was supposed to meet at the storage facility.

"You two ready?" Snake asked gruffly. The three wouldn't be changing into their stealth suits until they reached the storage facility; so they were supposed to pack them in backpacks.

Lynn was already ready, sitting there with her suit packed and some extra stuff she was bringing, but Andrea was still folding up her suit.

"Remember," Otacon said from his chair, "I'll be in contact over Codec and the two radios. And make sure you don't lose the security system hack."

"Don't worry," Snake said, presenting the device. "I'll have it at all times." Otacon gave him a thumbs-up.

Andrea had finished packing her suit in with help of Lynn, and the two set out. It was quite dark out; it was roughly midnight.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Snake asked Andrea. He didn't know how the rest of the week had gone, or what she had learned. He had asked her and Lynn, but neither of them would respond.

"I umm…I think," Andrea replied.

"Don't think you are," Snake responded. "Know you are. Confidence is key to survival."

"Y-yeah, I was taught that…" Andrea said.

"I know its cliché, but you have to believe in yourself."

"But don't be over-confident," Lynn cut in as the group rounded a corner on Manhattan's dark streets.

"I'll do the best that I possibly can," Andrea replied after a minute's silence. "I want to succeed…"

"Then succeed," Snake said. "Thinking about doing something's a whole deal different than actually doing it."

"I know, Lynn told me the same thing while I was being taught," Andrea answered shyly. "But I do have the will to succeed."

Snake didn't see any reaction on Lynn's face, but he could 'sense' that she was somewhat smiling wryly.

The rest of the trip to the storage facility was walked in silence, each member of the trio mentally preparing for the coming infiltration. They arrived, and walked down the dark access roads to the spot with their number. Lynn opened the lock, and slid the garage door-like door up and across the inner ceiling.

Everything that they had requested was there; Lynn's silenced sub-machine gun, medical supplies, and all the little odds and ends. Snake shut the door and re-locked it. An inventory of the gear was made, just to double check. It was then all sorted out into who it was going with.

"Time to change," Snake said, taking his Sneaking Suit into a darkened corner. He and Lynn started ridding themselves of their civilian clothes, and assembling their sneaking suits. Though with a reddened face from seeing Lynn naked again, Andrea did the same, donning her dark-grey suit that had a medic's patch sewn onto both shoulders. She had practiced several times on assembling the damn thing quickly, though she was still the last one to finish.

Andrea turned around. Snake stood there, in his blue Sneaking Suit, bandanna across his forehead. Lynn looked scary, in her black stealth outfit; she looked like something out of a Tom Clancy novel.

Though, as Andrea looked in the standard mirror that was in every storage room, she looked scary herself in her suit. Her brown hair draped down to the small of her back. She didn't know how many times Lynn had scolded her to get it cut, but…she liked her long hair.

Everyone then put away all their gear into their suit. Andrea felt a bit nervous when she was given the modified Beretta M9, but she calmed herself down by noting that it wasn't a lethal weapon. So she fit it in the handgun holder on her right side, just below her hip. All her medical supplies went neatly into the medical pack she was to carry on her back. After everything was in, she felt a lot heavier, but not as much as she expected. She could still move fairly quickly, and her stealth boots made it feel like she was walking on a cushion of air. The suit fit comfortably.

Lynn quickly packed away some ammo, holstered her modded M9, made sure a magazine was in her SMG with the safety on, and had all her other items safely secured in the suit's many accessible pockets. The armor felt light, and was not very restrictive to her movements. The suit felt like it would function the way it was needed to.

Snake holstered his SOCOM, opting for his more personal and powerful handgun. It had it's silencer on. His M9 went in the holster above it.

Chaff, Smoke, and Stun grenades were shared between the group, and everything was safely packed up.

"What are you going to use for codenames?" Snake asked. "Using your real names on a mission is not recommended."

"Codename?" Andrea asked. She really did find this night to be like something in a spy movie. She then realized how calm she was about the whole affair. Nervous, yes, but calmer than most people would be. Maybe it was from the harshness Lynn had endowed on her.

"How about 'Red Cross?'" Snake suggested.

"Red Cross?" Andrea repeated. She would be honored to have that code name.

"How about you?" Snake said to Lynn.

"Night," Lynn said. "As in 'currently, it's night.'"

"Night, Red Cross, and Solid Snake," Snake said to himself. "Tonight is an important night," he said to the girls. "Remember the floor plans that Otacon provided. Avoid being seen at all costs, and stay in the shadows. We will stick together, and quickly infiltrate to the lower section where the offline database is. Otacon can't hack into it because it's not connected to the internet, and as the online database didn't mention anything incriminating, there was a small slip about an offline database that Otacon said will probably hold all the 'black files.' I doubt that this facility holds anything else of interest, so just that computer for now."

"Agreed," Lynn replied.

"Alright," Andrea agreed.

Then, as if on cue, a low rumble approached from outside. Lynn unlocked the access door and glanced outside. A black van came to a stop in front of their storage room, and O'Brian got out of the driver's seat.

"You ready?" he whispered through the darkness.

"Pile in," Lynn said to her comrades. She, Snake, and 'Red Cross' Andrea got into the back, which was devoid of anything except handholds. The door was slid silently shut, and O'Brian took up his spot in the driver's seat. Andrea felt the van move forward, and a few turns.

Time passed, and Andrea could feel nervousness creeping up on her. Acceleration, deceleration, and turns didn't help as her body slightly bobbed in the direction the force pushed her small body.

"We're here," O'Brian said suddenly, through the darkness in the van. The vehicle slowed to a crawl and then stopped completely.

"Out," Lynn whispered, and silently slid open the door. She dropped cat-like onto the asphalt, and moved to the side so that Snake could get out. Andrea followed, and dropped to the ground in a low crouch. Knowing how to land to make such little noise was one of the many things she had been taught in her lessons.

"Keep low and quiet," Snake said, and hooked a thumb to the big metal fence that bordered the facility seen in the distance. Two guards were there talking nonchalantly to each other, silhouetted by the bright light inside their little booth.

The van slowly took off as to not make much noise, and Andrea followed Snake and Lynn in a low crouch to minimize her visible surface area. Not a noise escaped the three of them; Andrea was even controlling her breath with a technique Lynn had taught her.

The three stopped at the fence, a hundred meters away from the security booth and completely bathed in darkness. It was Andrea's guess that the guards wouldn't be able to spot them unless they shone some sort of light their way.

It was funny how drastically the little knowledge that Lynn had endowed on her had changed her. In normal situations it wasn't apparent, but…Andrea was supposedly trained with basics of stealth, something that usually doesn't get taught to high-school age girls.

She followed Lynn and Snake as they crept along the fence to the back of the facility.

"How are we getting in?" Andrea asked quietly.

"Cutting the fence," Snake replied, pulling out a Swiss army knife from one of his pockets. The three continued around the fence outline for ten minutes, until they came to a spot that was nicely covered from view. Snake snapped a square line through the fence, and lightly pulled it out. He set it aside on the grass, and donned his thermal goggles.

"Cameras?" Lynn asked silently.

"Of course," Snake replied. "Not many, though. Best course of action would be to Chaff them." He tugged a Chaff grenade loose and held it in his hand.

"Get ready to run," Lynn said to Andrea. Andrea's heart started racing. She had been educated on what a Chaff grenade was; she had been told that it sets up electronic interference by blasting a cloud of particles in the air that disrupted electronics. And she knew that it lasted for a very short time, so she had to leg it across the long stretch of bare field that ran from the building's wall to the fence.

"Chaff away," Snake whispered, pulling the pin from the cylindrical grenade. He waited for a few seconds, and tossed it, as hard as he could, towards the building but in a high arc. It didn't _detonate_ as so much as it _poofed,_ and a white metallic cloud quickly undulated into the atmosphere becoming invisible except for the occasional quick shimmer.

"Go!" Lynn ushered, and the three darted silently across the short grass. They pressed up against the wall, out of the camera's view. Andrea had also learned about this basic premise as well--flattening against a wall provided a slim silhouette as well as more effectively blending in with the wall. Andrea had become slightly fitter than before the training had began, but she was still panting a little. Yet another technique she learned was in effect for her, effectively reducing the output, but she was still out of breath.

"Right," Snake whispered, "there should be a ventilation shaft somewhere along this wall at my height." He searched along the wall to the right, while he motioned for Night and Red Cross to search to the left.

Just then, a call came over the radio.

"How's it going?" Otacon's voice asked through Andrea's earpiece. "Have you guys made it in yet?"

"It's in progress," Andrea heard Snake say over the radio. "And for the record, Andrea is Red Cross, and Lynn is Night."

"Okay," Otacon answered. "So, 'Red Cross,' are you holding out okay?"

Surprised by the man's concern, it was a few seconds before Andrea could reply. "I'm uhm…doing okay, I guess," she answered silently.

"How about you, 'Night?'" Otacon asked diligently.

"Status green," Lynn replied. It sounded kind of funny to Andrea, and she embarrassingly stifled a laugh. She then cursed herself for her lack of control

"I found the vent," Snake said over the radio. Andrea slid over to his position. Snake pulled out a screw driver and silently undid the screws on the covering. It took a few minutes, but the last screw dropped and Snake gently unearthed the rusty covering and put it inside the vent. Snake then hoisted himself up and disappeared into the dark shaft.

"Night vision on," Lynn told Andrea, so she slid the heavy goggles on her head down over her eyes. It was kind of cool for her to see the area suddenly glow with green iridescence. She felt like James Bond.

Snake poked his head and arms out of the shaft to help Andrea up. She grabbed hold of his infinitely larger hands, and climbed up the side of the wall into the shaft. She moved further in so that Lynn could climb in.

"I hope you're not claustrophobic," Snake whispered from in front of Andrea as he started moving forward in the small shaft. The shaft was a meter and a half wide, which was more than accommodating for Andrea, but Snake was obviously a tight fit for it.

Andrea kept up pace, making sure to keep from banging the flimsy metal surrounding her as she did so.

They reached a fork in the shaft.

"Which way?" Andrea whispered.

"To the left," Snake replied, and started down the left fork. Andrea followed, Lynn right behind her. They crawled at a slow pace for what seemed like ten minutes, before Snake stopped. He lifted up a grating, and gently placed it on the other end of the large opening that had dull light pouring into the shaft from.

Snake motioned for quiet, and wedged his legs against the sides of the shaft as he slid his head out of the shaft. He motioned to the girls, and Andrea remembered that it meant there was one person in the room below.

So, Snake slid out of the shaft without any noise, and dropped noiselessly to the floor.

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Snake motioned to his two compatriots to indicate that there was one person in the room they had to exit the shaft in. Snake slid into the room; the person appeared to be a simple office worker in his chair, looking at some papers. The situation was well engineered for Snake, as the lighting was dull and he landed quite literally right behind him. It was probably an innocent white-collar doing his job, but since this _was_ the most viable room they could exit from, he was going to have to be subdued. Snake slid out his M9 and held the barrel near the oblivious office worker's neck, and pulled the trigger. The guy flinched as he felt the dart penetrate his neck, but was sawing logs before he could raise his hand to inspect the foreign object. Snake retrieved the dart and tucked it inside a pocket inside his Sneaking Suit. Traces were not advisable.

"All clear," Snake whispered silently over the radio. Andrea slowly but silently made her way out of the shaft without making any noise. She was definitely exceeding Snake's expectations.

Lynn was next, and landed silently next to Andrea. Snake used that opportunity to look at the two girls in their stealth outfits. Lynn looked natural in one, but Andrea was extremely out of place with her long brown hair.

"It's late hour, so civilians should be at a small number," Lynn whispered. "We're still at ground floor, but we need to access the bottom floor."

"There's three ways to get down there," Otacon said over the radio. "There's the main elevator, which is out in the lobby and under constant watch from receptionists, cameras, and two security guards, there's the staircase which is locked up at night, and there's the service elevator, which has little security."

"Obviously we take the service elevator," Snake said. "Where is it?"

"Down the hallway from your position, to the left," Otacon said.

"H-how does he know our position?" Andrea asked.

"Encrypted GPS," Lynn replied.

Snake approached the office door and motioned for quiet. He silently turned the knob and opened the door a crack. The hallway was also dully lit, probably to conserve energy. Snake opened the door some more, and stuck his head out. He looked around, but didn't see anybody. It was a standard office hallway. The labs were more than likely in the basement, and the top floors kept sparkly for the public eye.

Snake proceeded down the hallway in Otacon's indicated direction, in a low crouch. The 'dynamic girl duo' followed behind him. Snake heard movement--

--a man came out of one of the offices, looking tired and stressed. Boy, wasn't his day about to get more interesting. He closed the door, and turned to face the three silent trespassers. His eyes lit up behind his glasses, and he stood there, frozen.

"Don't move or make a sound," Snake growled, whipping out his M9 and aiming it at the guy. The guy eyed Lynn's sub-machine gun uneasily.

"Go back in the office," Snake said, jerking the barrel of his M9 in its direction. The guy nodded and entered the office, scared shitless. Snake was quickly inside as well. He heard Lynn give Andrea an order to take up position with her to keep an eye in the hall.

"W-what d-do you want?" the guy stuttered.

"None of your business," Snake replied, aiming his M9 at his center of mass.

"D-don't shoot!" the guy pleaded, covering his face.

"Relax, it's a tranquilizer. I can't have you running around, so I guess you're gonna take a nap." A small inaudible cough erupted from the M9, and the guy flinched as the dart penetrated his chest. He slowly collapsed onto the ground. Snake removed the dart and stored it in his pocket with the other one. The guy breathed in and out peacefully. Snake went back out into the hallway, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"D-did you…" Andrea started to ask, trailing off.

"No, I only tranquilized him. There's no need to kill innocent civilians." Snake saw Andrea's face light up with relief.

The three continued on their way, and reached a T-junction. On the wall in front of them, where the hallway split sideways, a glass and metal window lay imprinted.

"Otacon, I think we've reached the service elevator," Snake said.

"That's it," Otacon replied. "It only goes to the first basement floor, but there might be more floors below that you need to find access to."

Lynn and Andrea checked the two hallways to make sure no one was in them. Snake opened the elevator door, and pulled himself into the two meter wide elevator shaft. Lynn followed, Andrea tailing them. She shut the door. Snake was already halfway down the shaft by the time the door was closed, and he un-wedged himself from the sides of the shaft to take a look through the window. There was yet another T-junction hallway, but this one was metallic and spotless. Snake eased out of the shaft and moved aside so the young girls could plop down beside him.

"This is different than upstairs," Andrea noted.

"Where do we go from here?" Lynn asked over the radio.

"Hold on," Otacon said. "I'm searching through the floor plans here, but there's only one for the first basement floor."

"So once we're down further, we're on our own," Snake implied.

"Sorry, I'll dig around some more, but there's not much more I can do…" Otacon answered. "For now, the floor plans say there's a network access computer down the hall to the right, but it has some security measures in place."

"So how do we get past them?" Snake asked, heading down the specified hallway.

"I can hack them if you want, but I'd need time."

"Is there a quicker approach?" Snake asked.

"Well," Otacon said, "if you can find someone with a proper keycard, you can gain access."

"Where do we find someone with a keycard?" Andrea inquired.

"My guess would be that only high-level employees carry them," Otacon answered. "No one on the higher floors probably has them, but they're probably abundant with the lab workers."

"So we need to find someone down here at this late hour," Snake mused. "Sounds like Big Shell all over again."

"We'll split up," Lynn suggested. Andrea looked worried.

"Okay," Snake agreed, "but you're taking Red Cross with you. She can't handle herself alone."

"Why with me?" Lynn responded.

"Because you're a lot closer to her," Snake joked. "Seriously, though, you both have a small profile and no matter what you say, you don't have much experience." Lynn had a pained look on her face. She turned and crept away, Andrea tagging along.

Snake was now free and alone for a bit to search for himself. He set off in a different direction.

-----------------------------------

Liquidus Snake had managed to tap into the infiltrator's conversation, thanks to O'Brian bugging the radios before he gave them to the customer. He sat in the back of O'Brian's black van.

"Solid Snake, hero of Shadow Moses," Liquidus said to himself. "Killed my brother and assisted in the death of the other one…Nothing better happen to my daughter."

Author's Note: So the mission has started! The search for the security keycard is on! Stay Tuned for next Chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: Due to the fact that school is about to start for me, new chapters will now be uploaded less frequently; however do not fear! The story shall continue!

**Chapter 11: Occurrence **

Andrea followed behind Lynn as they split up from Snake. Now, they were supposed to find someone with a security keycard.

Lynn slugged her sub-machine gun over her shoulder and drew her M9 tranquilizer. Andrea pulled hers out too, supporting the heavy metallic object with both of her hands. She knew how to use it (thanks to Lynn); she made sure the safety was on.

Lynn abruptly stopped, holding her hand out to signal for Andrea to stop as well. Andrea saw Lynn gingerly poke her head into a doorway. She looked around the room, and crept inside. Andrea followed.

The room was full of oddly high-tech stuff. A hologram was projected up high in the air, showing what was undoubtedly a new weapon revolving at a slow pace with some numbers. Andrea took a look at the rest of the room; there was some high-end computers, a few desks, a cold-storage fridge, but no sign of anyone.

"Should we search the desks?" Andrea whispered. Lynn nodded and looked around for any security cameras. Noticing none, she quietly shut the door and stood up. Andrea was temporarily awe-struck by how cool Lynn looked, but snapped back to her senses. Lynn had already started quietly ripping apart one of the desks' drawers, flipping through paper and junk. Andrea helped look through a different one.

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Snake snuck around, paying attention for guards or cameras. Strangely enough, for a facility that had initially seemed so suspicious, there was less security than Snake had expected. Unless they were missing something…

"Snake, come in," he heard Lynn say over the radio.

"Yeah, I'm here. What is it?"

"Me and Red Cross have come across something suspicious," Lynn replied.

"Did you find a keycard yet?" Snake asked hopefully.

"No," Lynn answered, "But I did manage to find some documents about the recent reduction of employees."

"What's strange about it?" Snake inquired.

"Eighty percent of the people fired are in the scientific field," Lynn responded. Snake thought about this for a minute.

"Why would a weapons facility that was aiming to reduce the number of employees fire only scientists?" Snake wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Lynn answered. "It has a list of names, though. Otacon, I need you to run these names through and tell me anything out-of-the-ordinary."

"Okay," Otacon replied. "Run 'em off."

Lynn recited about thirty names over the radio.

"Alright, give me a few minutes and I'll let you know if I find anything," Otacon said.

"Also, there's a hologram projector in here," Lynn added.

"So, nothing suspicious about that," Snake replied.

"It's a military-class projector," Lynn explained.

"Military?" Snake echoed. What was a military hologram projector doing in a civilian-run weapons lab?

"We're going to continue looking for a card," Lynn announced, and then there was silence over the radio. Snake took a quick glance around, and continued deeper into the room he was in.

The room, if it could be called that, was full of damaged or destroyed weapon prototypes. Handguns, rifles, automatics, they all lay stacked with some measure of neatness. Each stack had a note of paper denoting what their deficiency was, and tagged with a number for disposal.

Snake paused as he heard some movement, and pressed up against the wall. It was fairly dull in the room, so if someone walked by, unless Snake moved, they hopefully wouldn't notice him.

Instead of a person, though, a service robot came by on treads. It looked like a miniature tank, but without weaponry. It had a large platform on its top, and two 'arms' that it used to manipulate objects. It was a simple machine, that wasn't meant for security measures. It passed right by Snake to a pile of deformed weapons, and a small camera raised out of it. It scanned the note of paper attached to the stack, and proceeded to move some of the weapons from the stack onto its platform.

Snake used this opportunity to continue, and found a cleft in the wall; it was more than likely the service robot's access route. Snake made some mental measurements, and figured that he could fit in it, though it would be a tight squeeze. Snake waited patiently for the robot to finish it's duties and leave back through it's tunnel. Snake followed behind it, crawling silently and swiftly. The tunnel went for forty meters before opening up into a different room. Snake quickly scanned the area; he appeared to be in some sort of testing lab. It was quite large. Snake pulled out his M9 just in case, and stayed low and to the wall. Machinery was moving all around, and there wasn't any lights on except for the LED's on some of the machines. The result was just enough light so that Snake could make out the outlines of things in the room. Snake flipped the night vision goggles on his head down.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Andrea and Lynn had been through some more rooms and labs, but each one was strangely devoid of people. It was like no one worked during the night; which was unusual for a major company to do such a thing.

"Why aren't there any people?" Andrea asked.

"I don't know," Lynn replied. She closed the door behind them as they went back out into a dark hallway. "Unless--"

"Snake, Red Cross, Night, listen up," Otacon said over the radio, interrupting Lynn. "I did a check on the names you listed. All the names…they're all the employees of the lower section!"

"What?" Snake said. "That would mean there's only the office employees left!"

"No staff left in the labs…" Lyn wondered aloud.

"That's not all," Otacon continued. "Every one of the people who've been fired have all either gone missing, or died somehow."

There was silence.

"What the hell!" Snake exclaimed.

"This is starting to look really suspicious, guys," Otacon said with a worried tone in his voice.

"How are we supposed to gain access to the computer?" Snake asked.

"Hold on, I'm looking at some personnel files," Otacon replied. There was a few seconds of silence. "There!" he exclaimed all of a sudden. "When all of the employees' contracts were terminated, they had to hand over their cards, which are currently scheduled to be destroyed."

"Otacon, where do you find out all this stuff?" Snake mused. "Actually, never mind, I don't want to know."

"Where are the cards right now?" Lynn asked over the radio.

"They're in a service bot's storage room," Otacon said.

"I just came out of one of their damn access ways," Snake whispered.

"Well, if I'm reading your position right, their storage room is at the other end of that room, and through another one of their service tunnels," Otacon explained.

"Alright," Snake said. "I'm proceeding. Red Cross, Night, head back to the computer. I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

"Roger," Lynn responded. "We're heading back to--"

"_--Hey! What're you doing?_" a voice said in the background. Some automatic weapons fired, and Snake heard Andrea shriek out, before the radio suddenly cut out.

"Night! NIGHT!" Snake yelled over the radio, the sudden turning of the situation sinking in. "LYNN, COME IN!"

"Snake, what's going on!" Otacon asked nervously.

"I don't know!" Snake rushed.

"Snake, we have it under control, get a keycard," Lynn's voice came in over the sound of gunfire.

"Otacon, I need to--"

"Snake, you'll never make it to them in time! Lynn can handle herself, get the card, or the mission is scrapped!" Otacon exclaimed. Snake crouched there, frozen, dread chilling his blood and sending a chill down his spine. He begrudgingly headed in the direction of the keys. He knew that it was ultimately the girl's fault if anything happened to them, but he couldn't help but feel fully responsible…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When the heavily-armed security guards had come out of nowhere, Lynn didn't have anywhere to take cover before they spotted her and Andrea. The bullets started flying, and Lynn flattened against the wall. Andrea screamed, but did the same thing, creating a very small profile to which bullets could hit.

In one swift movement, Lynn holstered her M9 and unlimbered her sub-machine gun. She let loose a spray of bullets, downing one guy, but the rest dove for cover.

"Cover me!" Lynn shouted, and tried to ram her shoulder into a locked door. Andrea nervously pulled out her M9 and tried desperately to ignore the lethal projectiles that ripped into the metal walls as she dove for cover. Her hands trembled as she undid the safety on her weapon and turned on the laser sight, and aimed at one of the guards. She fired, and felt the gun recoil into her slender hands. The force was less than she had expected from the kickback, but it was still powerful. She pulled the slide back, and kept firing rounds randomly. A hostile fell to the ground as the drugs took effect, and Andrea heard Lynn shout from inside the room she now stood in. She poked her head out and sprayed some covering fire, Andrea rolled to the side and got up to run. She leapt at the open door--

--and felt a white hot pain stream up her leg. She screamed as she toppled to the ground inside the room. She shakily felt at the source of the pain, and her hand came away sticky with blood.

Lynn pulled a pin from a fragmentation grenade and tossed it out into the hallway. She shut the door, but the loud explosion and shaking of the room seemed distant to Andrea. She saw Lynn looking at her.

"W-what happened?" Andrea asked shakily as she felt herself losing strength.

"You were shot."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Snake had found the service tunnel to the bot's storage room, and had received no further calls from Lynn. He started crawling through the tunnel after he had checked no service bots were around.

He was halfway down the tunnel when he received a call from Lynn.

"Snake, are you there? Come in."

"Girls, what the hell happened?" Snake inquired, a bit louder than he intended.

"Unexpected resistance," Lynn answered. "We've hit a snag, though."

"Snag?" Snake echoed. A 'snag' for Lynn was a very serious thing indeed.

"Red Cross was shot."

Snake's blood ran cold, a dark feeling spreading through his body. Snake had seen a lot of people die in his lifetime, some of them in very horrific ways, but the idea of pure young Andrea getting shot…

"Is she dead?" Snake queried.

"No, she was shot in her calf muscle. Though she's immobile and weak now, she's not in danger of dying."

"Thank god," Otacon said over the radio.

"Right now, she seems to be…doing something….to her wound. I'm keeping guard while she patches herself up." Lynn reported.

"I'm almost at the cardkeys, do you think that she can still make it to the computer?" Snake implored.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"No," Lynn replied. Andrea felt her heart sink. She was scared, as she laid there in the corner, tears streaming down her face. She was shakily trying to treat the wound, but it hurt a lot. She felt weak.

Why did she get herself into this? Was she mad? She was a seventeen year old girl!

Andrea remembered that she had come here for Lynn. To protect her from death's grasp.

She noticed Lynn looking at her.

"I-I'm sorry," Andrea sobbed. "I didn't mean to weigh you down…"

"Pull yourself together," Lynn commanded. Andrea winced hard as she touched her own wound. She knew she had to take the bullet out, and she sat there, her hand poised above the red flower wound. She put some of her sleeve in her mouth and dug the pliers in. She bit down hard as pain took over what seemed like her whole body, so much that her leg felt on fire. Her hand trembled from the pain as she lifted the solid grey projectile from her wound, as a spurt of blood erupted, almost making her throw up. She quickly dumped the bullet aside and poured styptic into the bullet hole.

"Y-you don't have to wait here," Andrea pined as she continued her self-treatment. She had made up her mind. She had come here to help. She cried inwardly as she knew what she was about to say…

"I don't want to weigh you down," Andrea sobbed. "You were right, I never should have come…I'm sorry for making you mad. Leave me here, and go meet Snake…" Andrea really meant what she said. She knew what the repercussions would be, but she didn't want to think about them. More than likely someone would find her, and then she'd be… "Just go," Andrea cried. "I'll stay here…"

Lynn stayed silent for a minute, watching Andrea as she cried and whined.

"Go, don't stay," Andrea mourned, "I've already caused enough trouble."

"Are you done with your wound?" Lynn asked, obviously ignoring Andrea.

"Wha…I told you to leave me…" Andrea said pathetically, putting away the bandages. Lynn ignored her again; she shouldered her sub-machine gun, put her arm around Andrea's midsection (causing her to blush) and hoisted her up under her arm.

"W-why are you…" Andrea trailed off, as Lynn carried her quickly and silently out into the hallway and towards the computer.

"Leaving a comrade behind is something a coward would do," Lynn replied.

"Com…rade?" Andrea repeated, blushing a little more.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Snake waited impatiently at the computer, keycard at the ready. He had radioed the rest of the team when he found the security cards and returned to the computer. It was a rather large computer, with a slot in the side for reading the card. It was connected to the main computer, and the little network was completely out of Otacon's reach.

A little motion was noticed out of the corner of Snake's eye, and he snapped his SOCOM up and aimed it in the direction.

He eased up when he saw Lynn with Andrea draped under her arm.

"She okay?" Snake asked, gesturing towards Andrea.

"She seems to have treated it," Lynn responded. She set Andrea down beside the computer. Andrea winced as her leg moved.

"How you holding up, Red?" Otacon inquired admirably.

"O-okay, I guess," Andrea replied. "A little weak, but I lost a little blood…"

"Don't worry about it," Otacon retorted. "Lynn lost a lot more blood than you, and she's still standing."

"But she's strong," Andrea protested. She watched Snake put the card in the slot, and a faint hum as the computer read the data. Snake held his breath as he waited for the result.

'Clearance Accepted' appeared on the screen, and the computer accessed the main database.

"Okay," Otacon said over the radio, "let me take over." Snake took out the little gizmo that Otacon had given him, and plugged it into the USB 4.0 port. Apparently, this thing had a wireless connection with Otacon's computer, so now he was able to search the whole computer. Andrea watched as some app launched on the screen, and scanned through the computer.

"How long is this going to take?" Snake asked impatiently after about a minute had passed.

"Have patience," Otacon responded.

"Lynn and Andrea were discovered, hostiles are probably scouring the area," Snake retorted. "Time is not something we have a lot of."

"There, it's done, happy?" Otacon replied. Files stopped scrolling across the screen.

"Well…?" Snake wondered aloud.

"Hold on," Otacon responded. "I'm looking…The database appears to be clean--hold on, what's this?"

Snake and Lynn looked at each other.

"Did you find anything?" Snake asked hopefully.

"There's a single encrypted folder," Otacon answered. "Hold on while I transfer it to my computer so I can decode it."

"More waiting," Snake mused.

Minutes passed, Lynn standing still, and Snake hunched over the computer.

"I'm looking at the file now," Otacon finally spoke up. "Wow…"

"What?" Snake diluted.

"There's a single paragraph in a text file…It says 'OC successful in integration to Shadow…'"

"OC? Snake repeated. "As in Optic Camouflage?"

"That sounds like it, and my guess is it's referring to the new Metal Gear…" Otacon deduced nervously.

"Metal Gear Shadow," Snake muttered. "If it had Optic Camouflage, the codename Shadow makes sense."

"But Snake," Otacon protested, "think about it--a Metal Gear with stealth capabilities? Large-scale integration of Optical Camouflage has never been done before on such a large object!"

Snake realized what this meant.

"So it's invisible to the naked eye, _and_ can launch a nuke from any kind of terrain?"

"Oh, Jesus," Otacon announced. "I looked at the rest of the file. They've already managed to integrate other anti-detection gear as well."

"An invisible Metal Gear?" Snake choked. The thought chilled him to the core. Fighting a Metal Gear was bad enough--fighting one you couldn't see was even worse.

"Hold on, someone's at the door," Otacon interrupted. A large bang sounded, like a door being slammed open. Snake heard Otacon yell--

"--Snake! Someone's trying to--"

--The radio cut off.

"Otacon?" Snake yelled. "Otacon, what the hell just happened?"

Snake was now more worried than ever before.

Author's Note: Yes…the suspense left by this chapter leaves you wanting to know what happened, doesn't it? Well, wait for next chapter! 


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: I am working on a second story; a comedy that's a parody of the Wizard of Oz. I don't know if it's worthy of being put up, though…anyways, this chapter delves into Andrea's feelings a little…

**Chapter 12: Decadence**

"Girls, we're getting out of here!" Snake announced anxiously. Lynn quickly hoisted up Andrea, and followed Snake as he flat-out ran towards the service elevator. He jumped into it and scuttled all the way up to the ground floor. Lynn managed to do so as well, even carrying Andrea. They darted for the room with the ventilation shaft, past several confused employees who were promptly tranquilized.

They reached the room where they had left the ventilation shaft; the guy was still sawing logs in the corner. Snake quickly shoved a chair under the vent, and clambered up. He popped out to pull Andrea up, and grabbed her hands. He managed to get her inside and a little down the shaft before Lynn suddenly popped into the shaft.

Like some strange acrobats, Snake and Lynn (Andrea riding on Lynn's back, blushing) made a speedy crawl through the shaft towards the outside of the building. No one had said a word since Otacon had heard someone knocking and yelled suddenly.

It took a few minutes to navigate the shaft to the exit, and Snake literally flew out of the shaft and did a roll on the ground, chucking a Chaff grenade in the process. It threw a cloud of metallic particles in the air, just as Lynn and Andrea emerged from the shaft. Lynn stood upright, Andrea still riding on her back, when Snake took off running. Lynn followed, Andrea bobbing slightly on her back. Andrea was trying to ignore the pain in her leg. They ran, as fast as they could, towards the general area where O'Brian was supposed to be lurking around waiting for them.

The black van screeched forward in the distance and swerved out to meet them. A man opened the door, who looked like he had graying hair and a very coarse stubbly beard.

"Get in!" the man shouted. Lynn saw O'Brian's outline in the drivers seat, and sensing that it was okay, she jumped in the back of the van, the sub-machine gun and Andrea not weighing her down.

Snake followed next, and Andrea was dropped to the floor. She landed hard on her ass, and winced as a new wave of pain shot up her leg.

"What's the rush, guys?" O'Brian asked, hitting the gas so hard that Snake flew into the back door.

"Get us to our apartment," Snake said exasperatedly. "I'll give you directions."

Lyn was wedged into a corner of the van , supporting herself against the side of the van so that she didn't fall down with every movement the vehicle made.

"Warrant Officer Peterson Lynn," Lynn said as the van made a semi-tight turn.

"Warrant O--wait, isn't he your father!" Andrea exclaimed softly.

"Yes, I am," Peterson answered for Lynn. "Now you seem to be in a rush, Snake. What's wrong?"

Snake stiffened from the man's recognition of him, but Snake didn't have time for details.

"None of your business," Snake answered gruffly. "Just get me there."

---------------------------------------

What had awaited Bonavero in Chicago was nothing like he had expected. There, Ms. Forrester had a luxurious mansion, with all kinds of security and guards. Outside, it reminded Bonavero of a heavily guarded military bunker--but inside, it was classy, elegant, and beautiful. It was kind of what he had expected from someone of Ms. Forrester's breed.

But it was not the pricey mansion that had throttled his brain, or anything like that. It was when Ms. Forrester had pulled Bonavero in for a little chat in private that had really blew his mind. He was so distorted by what she had said to him, he didn't know what to think. It was too much to absorb. He was locked in a guest room, giving him a lot of time to think about it, but what Ms. Forrester had said…if it was true, it changed everything. Perspective had shifted to crystal-clear for Bonavero. Before he had only been seeing through one obscured eye, without even knowing it.

Bonavero sat down on the classy bed. They had said they'd let him take a shower and give him a change of clothes; he'd been in the same suit and hadn't bathed for quite a while. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his mind off what she had told him. The startling realization of what had been going on.

It was like a game of charades.

----------------------------------

Snake and Lynn piled out of the van before it even stopped moving, and silently made their way up the fire escape to the second floor. Andrea was once again clung to Lynn's back. Peterson wasn't too far behind, making sure no one was going to surprise them from the rear.

"The fire escape leads to the apartment right beside ours," Snake explained quietly, lightly shoving open a window. He slipped through, and helped Andrea through. Lynn followed last.

"Look, mommy!" a small child said, who was playing on the floor with his sister, despite the late hour.

"What?" the mother said, coming out of the kitchen. She stopped and dropped the glass of water she was carrying when she saw the three Tom Clancy rejects traipsing across her carpet.

"Sorry," Andrea said meekly with a pained smile as the group crowded around the door.

"What are you doing?" the mother asked. Snake held his finger to his mouth to indicate silence.

"Some very bad men are next door," he said simply.

"I heard some yelling and banging earlier," the mother said concernedly, eyeing the automatic slung around Lynn. "What is this, a costume party or something?"

"If thinking that makes you feel better, yes," Snake replied. He opened the door a crack and took a look outside. Peterson then came in through the widow.

"Is it clear?" Lynn whispered. Snake gave an almost imperceptible nod. He whipped out his SOCOM and crept out into the hallway, flattening against the wall between the apartment he had just come out of and Otacon's. He slid silently to the door; which was open ajar. Snake chanced a glance inside, and saw that the apartment had been torn apart. Otacon's clothes lay everywhere, Snake's precious couch was all torn up, his cigarettes distributed on the floor. Snake let the other three in and shut the door behind them. Andrea was set down on the couch, and the other three did a quick search of the house. No one was there anymore, even though it had been rougly twently minutes since the initial slamming of the door Snake had heard on his Codec.

"W-where's Otacon?" Andrea asked worriedly. Snake shook his head. The computer had been trashed to crap, its innards spewed around the desk. The chair was sprawled on the floor, some rips and tears in it.

"Nice homecoming party," Peterson mused sarcastically.

Snake heard a slight movement to his left, in the shoe closet. Snake instantly snapped his SOCOM up, as did Lynn with her M9. Snake edged towards the closet, and tried to yank it open. It was locked, and the sound caused whoever was inside to whimper.

"Otacon?" Snake asked suspiciously.

"S-Snake?" Otacon's voice replied. There was the unlocking of the closet door, and it slid open, revealing Otacon inside.

"What happened?" Snake asked, helping Otacon out of the closet.

I don't know," Otacon 'fessed up. "As soon as they started banging, I went to hide and tripped over my computer. That's why I couldn't contact you. I don't know what they looked like, or how many there were. They were only here for a short while."

"At least you're okay," Snake said, patting Otacon hard on the shoulder.

"I don't think it's safe for you here anymore," Peterson spoke up. He had obviously put two and two together to figure out what had happened.

"Who's he?" Otacon asked.

"Warrant Officer Peterson Lynn, Janice's father," Peterson announced.

"Her father?" Otacon repeated.

"The one who made her what she is today," Peterson expanded. It came rushing back to Snake what he had done to Lynn over her lifetime, and Snake had to restrain himself from kicking the crap out of him. But strangely enough, the man felt….familiar, somehow.

"Where can we go?" Otacon asked.

"I have an idea," Snake replied.

----------------------------------------

Jack was woken up in the very early morning by a phone call. He wiggled out of Rose's tenuous grasp and grabbed the phone on the bedside table.

"H-hello…?" Jack asked groggily.

"Long time no see, Raiden," a voice said over the phone. Jack could recognize the gruff, blatant voice anywhere.

"Snake!" Jack replied disbelievingly. He sat up straight in the bed, causing Rose to stir.

"We've run into a little problem and need your help," Snake said suspiciously.

"What kind of help?" Jack queried.

"Well for starters, a place to stay," Snake responded, causing Jack to feel dread.

"Snake, you're not turning my house into some kind of H Q," Jack stated.

"What's the matter?" Rose said beside Jack.

"Uhm, it's Snake," he replied, unsure of what to say.

"Look, we really need you to let us stay there," Snake said, increasing the seriousness of his tone. "Here, let me talk to Rose."

"Snake, Rose is asleep right now, and I'm not going to let you con her into--"

"Is it for me?" Rose asked, still half asleep.

"Look, Raiden, just give the phone to Rose," Snake said impatiently. "It's the least you could do for me saving your butt back at the Big Shell."

Jack grumbled an handed the phone over to Rose.

"Hello?" she groaned, as she sat up alongside him. He heard some warbled speech from the other end.

Minutes had passed, and Rose had started to look more and more worried. She gave the phone to Jack to hang up.

"Please tell me you didn't say yes," Jack pleaded. She smiled weakly. "Damnit," he said, putting his face in his hands, and rubbing his forehead.

"Come on, we have a fairly large house, we can accommodate them," Rose said.

"Snake and Otacon? They're going to turn this into some kind of headquarters!" Jack protested.

"They have three others with them," Rose interrupted. Jack groaned in response.

"Who?" he asked.

"Two girls from the local army base, and one of their fathers," Rose explained. "They're coming now."

"Right now?"

"Y'mhmm."

"Great." Jack got up and fished around for some clothes.

-----------------------------------

Despite the obvious displeasure Snake had heard in Raiden's voice, the kid had tried to greet them enthusiastically when they arrived at his doorstep. His face dripped with worry and anger when he saw that the majority of his guests were wearing funky stealth uniforms. He ushered the four inside, as O'Brian drove away outside.

"Sorry, we haven't had time to change," Snake said. Raiden eyed the two girls suspiciously.

"What happened to her leg?" Raiden inquired, pointing at the white bandages wrapped expertly over Andrea's leg. Snake brushed his question aside and shut the door.

"Alright," Snake announced. "We have Lynn here, who's got the training of an elite Special Operative," he said, gesturing to Lynn. "We have Warrant Officer Peterson Lynn, who's her father and the reason she had no childhood," Snake said as he hooked a thumb at Peterson, "and we have little Andrea here, who's got a crush on Lynn the size of Mount Everest and the youngest person to ever receive their Medical Certificate." Snake pointed at Andrea, who was starting to turn cherry red.

"I d-didn't--don't have a c-cray-crush o-on…" Andrea stuttered incoherently, her face radiating heat.

"Quite the party you have there," Jack said sarcastically. "Anyways, I'm Raiden, or as I'd rather be called, Jack. I helped Snake in the Big Shell."

A half hour later, after everyone had changed back into some normal clothes (except for Andrea) and safely stored away their expensive combat outfits, they all fell asleep in random places. The only ones who didn't sleep were Peterson, Andrea and Lynn.

It was near morning, and Raiden had gone back into his bedroom, while Rose was helping Andrea out of her combat outfit without aggravating her wound.

"Why are you with these guys?" Rose asked nicely. "You seem like such a nice, quiet girl. You hang with Snake, you're going to get yourself killed."

"I…" Andrea began, looking to the floor. "I wanted to protect Lynn, while she fought…but I ended up being the one protected." She looked on the verge of crying.

"I heard you have a crush on her," Rose said, as Andrea painfully and slowly slipped off the leg section of her stealth outfit.

Andrea turned red again. "N-no, I don't!"

Rose just looked at her with a sly smile on her face. Andrea looked at the floor again

"Is it…that obvious?" Andrea whispered, almost inaudible.

"Your reactions to her are very severe," Rose answered simply. Andrea began to cry.

"I feel…so wrong. It's not right to like another girl, is it?" Andrea whispered again, curling up her knees to her chin.

"There are those who would say that," Rose answered softly. "But people's opinions have no bearing on someone's feelings towards another person." Andrea stayed silent. "Though, I am surprised someone like you could have a crush on a person with such a cold demeanor."

"You don't know what her childhood was like," Andrea said into her knees. "I don't really understand it either, but…she never grew up the way someone should. She was raised to fight since birth…"

Rose sat down next to Andrea on the floor. "You know, Jack was that way too."

"T-the blonde guy?" Andrea replied curiously.

"It's a past he doesn't want to remember, so I'm here to help him get past it," Rose said quietly. "What about you? Why do you love that girl so much?"

"I heard about what kind of life she's had," Andrea confessed, her red face completely buried in her knees. "Alone all the time…no one should spend their life like that."

"You're very smart for a girl so young," Rose complimented her.

"And I knew," Andrea continued, "that she ends lives, while I save them…opposite sides of a coin…"

"Every love has it's trials," Rose explained. "Nothing in this world is perfect. It's just that some things are less so than others."

Andrea rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

"I want to…fill that loneliness that's been there forever…and keep her alive, no matter what," Andrea said, her true feelings flowing out of her.

"That's what true love is," Rose said, standing up. "It doesn't matter if it's between a man and a woman, two men, or two women." She smiled. "Breaking a barrier of loneliness will be a tough job, but you can wear it down over time."

---------------------------------------

"Why are you here, Sir?" Lynn asked her father, who was sitting across from her in the living room.

"What," Peterson replied, "can't I even come and see my own daughter when I want to?"

"You wouldn't come all the way here from Iraq just to do that," Lynn replied evenly. Peterson smiled.

"I've trained you well."

"Why did you come here?" Lynn repeated.

"Because I heard about what you were up to," Peterson answered.

"That doesn't answer my question, Sir."

"Call me 'Dad' or something like that," Peterson asked politely. Lynn stared at him, waiting for him to reply. "I heard that you were getting all kinds of gear and was worried about how much you were charging to my credit card," he lied.

"It was needed to be done," Lynn responded.

"Anyways," Peterson said, changing the subject, "cute little girlfriend you have there."

"You don't even know what kind of mission I'm on," Lynn said, ignoring her father's humor.

"You mean the search and destruction of a Metal Gear?" Peterson queried, frowning.

"Your knowledge surprises me," Lynn replied. She stood up and walked away to get some water.

The kitchen was still fairly dark, with only a faint bit of light coming in through the window from the slightly brightening sky. A woman, who Lynn could only guess to be that guy Raiden's lover, was grabbing a drink of her own. Lynn ignored her, and filled up her own personal mini-canteen with some water.

"Hi," Rose said delicately, sitting down at the kitchen table with her glass of water. "You must be one of Snake's friends."

"I'm assisting him," Lynn said simply. She went to leave.

"C'mon, stay and talk. I'm letting all you soldiers stay here, its' the least you could do," Rose asked nicely. Lynn contemplated this for a second, before sitting down at the table opposite Rose.

Lynn took a couple mouthfuls of water.

"It's just that I wondered what two girls so young were doing with Snake," Rose explained.

"We're assisting him," Lynn answered simply.

"I see that," Rose answered plainly. "But you know, Andrea will tag along wherever you go…even death, if that should so happen."

"That's her fault, I've told her on numerous occasions to go home," Lynn replied evenly.

"You may be great at fighting, and all kinds of other stuff, but you're a complete novice when it comes to other people," Rose stated. "That girl _loves_ you, and you trounce around like her life means nothing to you."

"Having feelings for a comrade is one of the worst sins you can commit," Lynn answered. "It distracts one from their duty and fills their mind with garbage." Rose closed her eyes and shook her head.

"It doesn't work that way, dear," Rose corrected her. "Would you know what it felt like? To be fighting for someone you love? The will to fight for someone special to you is more powerful than any gun, any martial arts, or machine in the world. That's why Jack fought so hard…"

"Have you ever been in a combat situation?" Lynn said bluntly. Rose stayed silent.

Lynn got up to leave.

"Dying a lonely death is one of the worst sins you can commit," Rose finally said as Lynn walked away. Lynn remained silent.

Author's Note: Awww….how romantic. I hope you guys enjoyed this lighter side of the story. 


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: 13 chapters and still no reviews! Come on, people, give my story a chance! Well, if you've read up to this point, you obviously have. 

**Chapter 13: Influence**

Because of the hectic night, Otacon had stayed out of everyone's way. And also, as a result of the hectic night, mostly everyone slept in until evening the following day; except for Raiden and Lynn. Raiden had come out into the living room at about noon that day to see Lynn doing push-ups on the floor.

"So tell me something," Jack said, going into the nearby kitchen to make himself some lunch, "what have you gotten yourself into?"

"Snake will explain that," Lynn said, huffing through her push-ups.

"Does this have to do with a Metal Gear?" Jack asked carefully. Lynn stayed silent. He eyed her suspiciously. "I thought so," he mumbled to himself.

"You've had an experience with Metal Gear before," Lynn guessed.

"If you could call it that," Jack answered from the kitchen. "It was more like a fateful meeting."

"There is no such thing as fate," Lynn huffed. Jack laughed.

"People can believe whatever they want to believe," he said. He became more occupied with his doings in the kitchen, and it was at that moment that Andrea hobbled up the stairs with some help from crutches Rose had given her.

"M-morning," Andrea said abashedly when she saw Lynn. The tough chick gave no response; she kept exercising. Andrea hobbled over to the couch and sat down, watching Lynn exercising.

"Come here," Lynn said, stopping and lying flat on the ground. "I need your weight." Curious, Andrea hobbled over to Lynn, her face pink.

"W-what do you need?" Andrea asked.

"Sit on my back as well-balanced as you can," Lynn instructed. "I need extra weight. Normal push-ups don't cut it any more."

"Um…okay," Andrea replied, and sat down nervously on Lynn's angular back. She laid her crutches against the nearby coffee table. Lynn started doing pushups, with a lot more stress than before. Andrea squeaked and tried to keep balance.

Jack was in the midst of eating some noodles when he started watching the two girls.

"They look cute together," Rose said from behind Jack, slipping her arm around his.

"Look out, I'm holding hot noodles," Jack warned, showing her the steaming bowl. The two stood there for a second, watching Lynn doing her pushups.

"They're the perfect two for protecting each other," Jack mentioned, as he diddled around with the noodles. "One's meek and shy, the other's cold and strong, both able to protect each other."

The rest of the day passed by, and it wasn't until the latter evening that the rest of Jack's guests woke up. Rose had prepared a large scale meal; it looked delicious to everyone who surrounded the table. Snake and Otacon hadn't eaten a good home cooked meal for a long time, Lynn basically survived on rations, and Andrea was very appreciatory.

"After this," Snake said, sitting down lastly, "things get explained." Everyone said thanks for the meal (Snake had to prod Lynn a few times to get her to) and dug in.

-----------------------------------

Gagarin had been waiting impatiently for his two hit men to return. It was evening by the time he got a call from Yuri.

"Yuri, did you get them?" Gagarin inquired forcefully.

"No, Boss," the strong-accented man replied. "No one was home."

"DAMN!" Gagarin yelled, nearly chucking his cell phone across the room but realizing the stupidity of it. Ever since he had been told the news of the fourth Les Enfants survivor, he had been extremely on edge.

"Boss, we no mean for failure," Yuri consoled him. "We look around more, yes? They could not have gone far."

"Find them," Gagarin demanded simply. "If you don't…"

"We won't fail again," Yuri replied. "It's promise."

"Don't promise, get your incompetent asses out there and _do your job_!" Gagarin shouted, and slapped his phone shut. _Useless fools,_ he thought. And so was Ocelot, now that he thought about it. The fool still hadn't managed to break into the PDA, and was scheduled to phone back with a progress update that very same evening.

Much to Gagarin's surprise, the phone rang three minutes after talking to Yuri. And, lo and behold, it was Ocelot.

"Please tell me you've decrypted that piece of techno-junk," Gagarin pleaded. "I can't handle any more failures today."

"You're in luck then, my friend," Ocelot answered intensely. "We've gotten past the PDA's lockouts."

"Then you have the location of Shadow, I presume?" Gagarin asked hopefully.

"Northern Canada," Ocelot replied drawn-out. "Gagarin, looks like your men are going across the border."

"I have friends high up in the Canadian government," Gagarin mused. "Getting in should be easy because of that."

"Good luck, my friend."

--------------------------------------

"No," Jack replied bluntly.

"Come on, we need you!" Snake begged.

"I'm trying to build a new life for myself," Jack said in response. "Jack the Ripper is no more."

"Metal Gear might have a lead to Olga's child!" Snake tried. This caught Jack's attention. He considered it for a minute.

"I would, but, Rose comes first," Jack argued.

"Raiden, back when you killed Solidus--" Peterson noticeably stiffened "--weren't you the one that told me you were 'in?'" Snake demanded. Jack stayed silent.

"Go," Rose said from the side. "Jack, I know Olga's child means a lot to you, so I think this would ease your mind…"

"Rose, you're supposed to be stopping me from going!" Jack exclaimed. She smiled at him.

He punched the wall lightly. "Damnit. Fine, you have me. I'll go."

"All the help the better," Snake said.

"The most obvious place to try is the facility far north in Canada," Otacon spoke up. "We should get going tomorrow, and get the drop on them."

"Not much recovery time for you, huh?" Jack said to Andrea.

"M-my injury doesn't matter," Andrea replied softly.

"Anyways," Otacon continued, "We'll catch an early flight tomorrow, and once we hit Pearson Airport we'll find 'a way' to get to the facility."

"How do we do that?" Jack interjected. "I thought you said it was in the northern parts of Canada? The only way to reach it would be by plane."

"Otacon, are you suggesting we hijack a commercial airplane!" Snake exclaimed.

"Not a commercial one," Otacon corrected him wryly. "A small jet that can carry our small group."

"Otacon, you amaze me sometimes," Snake muttered.

"Who's going to pilot it?" Lynn asked.

"Me," Otacon answered simply. "I'll fly us right into that facility's runway."

"So that's our plan?" Jack confirmed, half-sarcastic.

"It's actually pretty good," Snake spoke up. "Getting the plane will be the hardest part."

"Well, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow," Rose chirruped, so I'm going to start getting some things ready for you guys."

After an early bedtime and early rising, Jack was already packed up to go (thanks to Rose). Snake chanced a quick run to Otacon's apartment to retrieve some clothes for himself, Otacon, Lynn, and Andrea. Raiden and Peterson were waiting impatiently for Snake to return.

Alas, the six were on their way. The stealth suits would pass as normal clothes, but the weapons had to stay behind. Customs would have a freak show if they tried to carry weapons over the border.

Luckily, everyone had their passport, including Snake's doctored one. But it had passed before, so there was no reason why it wouldn't now.

O'Brian's van was jam-packed with six people riding in it, but somehow he managed to make it to the airport with little incident.

Snake laughed inwardly when he saw Lynn glancing around the airport. She had obviously never been on a plane before. Neither, as Snake saw Andrea hanging close to Lynn and slightly shaking from nervousness, had Andrea.

The six of them must've looked suspicious as they went up and bought their tickets; a lot of people were staring at them. Snake tried to ignore them as Lynn paid for the tickets with her seemingly-limitless credit card, which, now that Snake thought about it, was ultimately paid for by Peterson.

The six of them had their tickets, and waited around for an hour or so in the airport. Their flight arrived right on schedule, and they all piled in. It ended up it was a small 737 200-seater aircraft. Everyone took their seats; luckily the six of them had received two sets of seats paired together. In the one 3-seat section, Snake had window seat, Otacon sat in the middle, and Peterson ended up as the last man in that row. Behind them, Andrea unluckily received window seat but switched with Raiden (so was now in the aisle seat), and Lynn sat in the middle.

"You seem a little shaky," Jack mentioned as he noticed the small medic girl's arms clasped to the armrests. The plane hadn't even moved out of its loading bay yet.

"I-I've never flown before," Andrea admitted meekly.

"Thank god I have macho chick here beside you," Jack remarked. Lynn was also keeping a watchful eye on things too, so he had a sneaking suspicion that Lynn had never been on a plane either.

The plane finally started to move away from the loading bay and edge towards the runway. Andrea unconsciously tightened her grip on the armrests.

Then, things got really interesting.

The plane sped up at an abnormally fast pace, the feeling of vertigo evident on the small girl's face. She accidentally squeaked and closed her eyes as the plane's front end lifted off, causing even more vertigo.

The plane took a while to reach it's 36,000 feet cruising altitude, and leveled out. Andrea was breathing quite heavily.

"You seem a little more freaked out about this than most people," Jack mentioned to her.

"I-I'm af-fraid of h-heights," she admitted.

"Lynn, she's your girlfriend, talk to her to take her mind off her fear," Raiden suggested. Andrea didn't even notice what Jack had said.

"Why do I have to?" Lynn queried.

"Just be nice and do it," Jack answered simply. "Like, for example, tell her how her performance was during your mission in Manhattan."

"I d-didn't do al-ll that g-great," Andrea stammered. "I f-failed…"

"No, you actually exceeded expectations," Lynn corrected her evenly. Andrea's eyebrows shot up and her face regained some of it's color (her face had drained to a whitish shade).

"R-really?" Andrea inquired exasperatedly

"Expectations were that you would barely remember anything you were taught, and you would lose self-control on the battlefield. But you didn't, and I was wondering why that was," Lynn replied. "Where did your courage come from?"

"It was because…" Andrea began, but reciprocated from a light color all the way to red. She tried to pick up the courage to say what she was about to say. "It was because…I…I fought for someone….I….loved…."

Lynn's mind was confused. Was what that 'Rose' woman said true? Were feelings for someone a source of willpower? She certainly hadn't expected Delintoro to pull through, yet she had seriously startled Lynn with her usage of skills taught in the time of a week. Maybe the woman _was_ right…but it had no bearing on Lynn, because she knew better than anyone else that she was completely emotionless.

But there was something, when she saw Delintoro, that she felt. Having never felt an emotion before in her life, she was very confused…she felt like she had to protect the girl because she was so powerless. The recruit had said back at the base that she didn't have a purpose for being there; yet a few minutes later she had made up her mind to protect Lynn from harm.

Now, was she empathetic about the young girl being so helpless, that these 'needs' to protect had been reciprocated?

Or was the girl starting to tear away at the barrier of loneliness and emotionless that had been build around Lynn since her birth?

Andrea had fallen asleep from exhaustion, and her head fell onto Lynn's shoulder. Her immediate reaction would've been to shove the girl's off her shoulder, but…for some reason, she just let it rest there, like she didn't care.

Author's Note: Whoa….that got real philosophical. The effects of love are stronger than most people think…


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: Wow…today was the first day of school for me (sept. 5) hooray for being Canadian! I've grown attached to Volume 2 of the Halo 2 soundtrack. Anyways, enjoy the story…this one's really romantic; it's like cavity-sweet. Don't worry! Deh Action Shall Returnez to Snakey shortly!...And please, for me, leave a review!"

**Chapter 14: Turbulence **

"_We will be arriving at Toronto Pearson Airport in fifteen minutes,_" the Captain said over the intercom. Andrea's head had been on Lynn's shoulder for most of those hours, but she didn't care. Though it felt weird to have someone touch her.

Andrea then woke up, twenty or so seconds after the Captain pilot had made his announcement. The small girl noticed she had her face against Lynn's shoulder, and she hastily drew back from her, face turning a dark shade of pink.

"We're landing soon," Lynn announced to the embarrassed medic girl. She looked at her. "Your expressions are always too exaggerated," Lynn commented.

"S-sorry," Andrea apologized.

"You also apologize for no reason." Andrea stayed silent.

The plane began its descent, Andrea losing her pink color and draining to a faint white. Buildings became distinguishable from the mass flooring that the ground had seemed like from so high up in the air. Then, the buildings gave way and transformed into flat ground, with black tarmac striping everywhere. Then, there was a jolt as the plane touched down, and Andrea slowly relaxed as the plane slowly decreased its speed. It then gently rolled around a turn using it's momentum, and came to a stop near it's loading bay. The Captain then precision-positioned the aircraft for the connecting loader, and the plane's door opened up.

Everyone got up, with the six Philanthropists sticking together. Andrea, having been allowed to take her crutches with her on the plane, struggled to keep up.

Passing through security was a normal affair, as was retrieving their baggage.

"Now we have to find a hotel," Otacon said as they left through the large airport doors. Two cabs were on their way, thanks to a quick call from Andrea. "Once we do, we can start preparing to execute our daring plan."

"I still don't know why _he_ came along," Snake mused, gesturing to Peterson.

"Hey, I'm paying for everything you guys are doing," Peterson remarked.

"How do you end up with so much money to spare?" Jack remarked. Peterson smiled.

"I'm a rich man," he said simply. Snake had a feeling that there was much more to it than that.

The cabs came not much later, and somehow the cabs managed to fit the luggage and three people per car.

Peterson sat in the one car, with Lynn and Andrea in the back and him up in shotgun.

"Where to?" the cab driver asked; a tired old guy wearing a golfing hat.

"Follow the cab ahead of us," Peterson answered simply. The cabbie did what he was instructed and followed the other orange-and-green cab as it pulled away from the main entrance of Pearson Airport.

"Lynn," Peterson said, turning around so that he could see his daughter, "I saw something unusual on the plane. You were letting that girl sleep on your shoulder." Andrea reddened and looked out the window.

"So?" Lynn replied unfazed.

"You're letting someone get close to you; you're starting to trust people," Peterson said with a more serious tone. "You were taught that you can trust no one but yourself."

"I can tell if someone is trustworthy or not," Lynn replied solemnly. "The only two I don't trust who's with us is Raiden, because I haven't had sufficient time to make a proper judgment, and mainly you, because you have no real reason for being here."

"You're suspicious of me," Peterson acknowledged. "But I still don't understand why you're letting that girl get close to you."

Lynn stayed silent.

"I guess being raised my men could only result in you liking women," Peterson announced with a sigh. He turned slightly to face Andrea, whos face was probably raising the internal temperature of the cab. "You know, Andrea," Peterson said blatantly to Andrea, "I don't know what you see in her, and you won't get any closer than you are now. She's a killing machine, always has been, always will be."

"B-because you raised her without a heart," Andrea blurted out.

With ease and calm, Peterson outstretched his arm to slap the small girl, but was quickly blocked by Lynn's hand.

"I see," Peterson said disappointedly, retracting his arm. "You are a disappointment, Lynn. You've never stopped me from doing anything before."

"Abuse of children under the age of eighteen I don't condone," Lynn answered him. He gave a short chuckle.

"That's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard. I've beaten up hundreds of people younger than her, and you didn't do shit about it," Peterson retorted happily. "Leaving my supervision has turned you weak," He commented. "No daughter of mine is weak."

"I am your only genetic offspring," Lynn replied evenly. "Genetics cannot lie. I am not weak."

"You've learned to talk back, as well," Peterson remarked. "This girl is making a mockery of you. I hope she dies so that you understand what a fool you're being." He motioned for the cabbie to stop, and he got out. He walked away, just as suddenly as he had shown up in the van.

"I-is your father always like that?" Andrea asked shyly, once the cab had started moving again.

"Yes," Lynn replied evenly.

"I…I think he's partially right, though," Andrea muttered, looking out the window. Lynn looked at her. "M-maybe I…maybe I really am just making you weaker. I mean… you had to protect me, carry me, and you took a bullet for me…" Andrea's eyes welled with tears.

"You're missing the confidence you had during the mission," Lynn responded. "And Warrant Officer Lynn is wrong…It's not that I'm becoming weaker, it's that I'm learning things he never wanted me to learn…"

"R-really?" Andrea replied unsurely.

"I know my own strength, and what I learn," Lynn stated evenly.

"W…what did you learn?" Andrea asked curiously.

"Trust," Lynn replied. "I do not 'suspect' anyone of anything here, but there's only two people that I have learned I can trust."

"S-Snake and Otacon?" Andrea guessed meekly.

"Snake is one of the people I trust, though the lesser one," Lynn answered.

"I don't know who else you'd trust so much," Andrea remarked quietly.

"I trust you the most," Lynn responded. Andrea's fine eyebrows shot up in surprise, albeit her face turning red in the process.

"Y-you trust…_me_?" Andrea stammered. She then obtained a hurt look on her face. "That can't be true…I said that I'd protect you, but I'm the one being protected…"

"You saved my life," Lynn retorted. "When I was wounded in the restaurant. If you had not given me medical treatment, I would've bled out. So I returned the favor."

The cab pulled alongside a hotel, and Andrea meekly followed Lynn as they exited the car and entered the hotel. The day was starting to draw to a close, so Snake had said that they were leaving the planning until the next day.

"Can I help you?" the desk clerk said, whilst in the middle of brushing long blonde hair.

"One room for five people," Lynn replied simply.

"Sorry," the clerk replied. "All our large rooms are full. However, we do have three two-person rooms all next to each other."

"Okay," Lynn responded. Six keys were given to them.

"Who goes in what rooms?" Snake asked what had obviously been the question on everyone's mind. "Obviously, the two lovebirds get their own room," Snake joked, Andrea looking away and turning a now-familiar shade of red. "Okay, Raiden, Otacon, want to draw straws to see who gets their own room?"

"I'll take a roomie," Otacon put in. Snake and Raiden glared at each other. Otacon found some straws at a pop machine at one end of the lobby and cut one end off. He mixed them up behind his back, and presented his clenched hand. The straws protruded out of it.

Raiden decided he was going to draw first, and yanked a straw from Otacon's hand. Snake took one next, and his ended up being longer than Raidens.

"Solid Snake strikes again," Snake mused gruffly as he partied over his lone room.

The diminished group hauled their stuff upstairs to the three respective rooms. Lynn and Andrea scored the one in the middle; Snake had the one to the left, and Otacon/Raiden had the one to the right.

Lynn opened up the door and went inside, Andrea following. Andrea stopped short when she saw the room, however. There was one double bed. Which meant, yet again, as Andrea found herself thanking God subconsciously, she'd be sleeping next to Lynn again.

Lynn seemed oblivious, or more likely she didn't care, as she set down her small pack and shut the door. She started taking off her clothes as she headed to the bathroom.

Andrea watched Lynn until she entered the bathroom and shut the door, before she sat down on the bed. She was thinking about what Rose had told her. After what had happened on the plane and in the cab, Andrea was trying to work up the courage to tell Lynn how she truly felt…

Lynn took only a few minutes to have her shower, and came out in sports bra and standard-issue women's briefs.

Andrea staggered one-legged past Lynn to the bathroom, and shut the door, her nose starting to bleed slightly. She figured that maybe she'd wait until after she'd had a shower and updated her wound's dressing…

After taking off her clothes, Andrea gingerly peeled away the bandage, unwrapping her leg. The wound was all nasty and thick with hardened blood and natural clogs, but was infection-free thanks to the antiseptic she applied.

The wound was still fairly new though, so Andrea supported herself in the shower and didn't dare put any pressure on her leg, lest she re-open the wound.

Finally, Andrea had time to think. What had happened in the cab…Lynn had actually defended her. Praised her, even, when she had told Andrea about her performance in the mission they had done at the Manhattan lab. Usually, Lynn had such a cold 'I-don't-give-a-damn' exterior. Was Andrea actually managing to do what Rose had said; start to tear down that wall that had been erected for so long?

Andrea doubted that, though. Maybe she had stood up for her because she had saved her life? But then again, Lynn had saved _her_ life back in the Manhattan lab, so they were even. Andrea's head sunk low in the torrent of water that pelted down on her.

_Confidence_, Andrea suddenly thought. _I need to have confidence._ Andrea hoped that Rose was right when she had given her all that advice. And the worst that would happen is Lynn ignoring her, right?

But what if something else went wrong?

_Focus,_ Andrea thought to herself. She came to realize that she was lacking self-confidence. She needed to be strong, or live in the shadows of her fear…

Andrea emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later, having given the matter plenty of thought. Lynn was busy doing some sit-ups, her feet anchored against the bed. Andrea hopped across the soft white linen carpet and stopped about a meter away from Lynn, her arm up against the wall for support.

_Okay,_ she thought, _this is it…_

She took a deep breath.

"Uhm, L-Lynn?" Andrea said, her voice wavering.

"What?" Lynn replied evenly as she continued doing sit-ups.

"There's umm…something I n-need to say…"

"Say it, don't fool around with wording."

"I…I um…." Andrea stammered. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"You have a serious deficiency of self-confidence," Lynn announced as she huffed through sit-ups.

"I lo…" Andrea trailed off, her nervousness increasing greatly. She was more nervous than during the mission, even more nervous than during the flight… She felt dizzy, her head starting to spin…

Lynn saw the girl about to collapse, and quickly moved in to position to break her fall. She rolled into Andrea as she fell, causing her to nearly fall on top of her. It was the best she could do in such short notice.

Andrea's head slowly swam to the surface as she landed, having nearly feinted. She noted that she had fallen on top of Lynn, who was holding her from landing on her. Andrea squeaked and tried to get up and away, but she screwed up Lynn's grip and fell on top of her. Her face was an inch away from Lynn's, and she blushed fuchsia.

Lynn, looking at the girl an inch away from her and who was sprawled on top of her, felt so many things rush through her. She could only guess that these were 'emotions.' But all these different things at once, made her frozen; her logical brain trying to sort through them all at once.

Andrea's mind blanked out, Lynn's angular face right in front of her. She couldn't help herself as her head moved forward and nervously kissed Lynn lightly before passing out completely.

Lynn couldn't move as the small girl lightly kissed her, and then collapsed. Lynn stayed frozen for a few seconds because of her 'brain flood.' She peeled the girl off of her, and chucked her on the bed. She sat still, thinking to herself. All those things she had felt when Andrea had fallen on her… and then kissed her.

Lynn, who had been trained exclusively as a soldier and nothing else, didn't know what to do. All that contact at once had certainly played hell with Lynn's mind, but the touching of lips…Lynn had nearly passed out herself, because of the immense strain on her inexperienced mind.

Obviously, the girl had feelings for Lynn…but everything she felt, what did it mean…that she actually _felt_ something towards _somebody else?_

The girl was certainly doing what her father had been trying to prevent; breaking down the barrier of solitude that Lynn had operated behind for all eighteen of her years.

Now that Lynn thought about it, all the girl had ever done since she met her was try to help her or stay out of her way…maybe it was her kindness that was getting to Lynn; niceness had not been something people had radiated to her.

Yet here this young girl was, who had put her life on the line for Lynn…

Lynn now realized what Rose had meant when she had said that it was _her _fault if anything happened to the girl. Willpower derived from the feelings towards someone else…

But did Lynn feel anything for the girl?

Yes. There was something definitely there.

Was it…companionship? Friendship?

Love?

Lynn realized she was looking at Andrea's peaceful face the whole time while thinking this. Never before had Lynn thought about someone's appearance, but the girl had a natural 'air' to her, one that could make one feel at ease and not even think about hurting her.

But now that she knew all this, she didn't know what to do…she was lost, alone in the dark, something completely new to her scaring her usually calm mind.

But what to do?


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: Damn, man. My comptuer was infected by a trojan virus under the guise of a .torrent file, which activated and installed all kinds of adware and stuff on my computer, did stuff to the core windows program causing some filing system errors and the rare reboot when you click on something. Damn mcaffee that I legally paid for and have updated everyday isn't doing shit for me. What the hell is it good for, if not protecting against viruses? Anyways, sorry to ramble on about my problems. On with the show!

**Chapter 15: Fluorescence**

Andrea woke up that morning with a headache from the previous night's overload. She struggled to remember what had happened the previous night…

…and realized she was curled up against Lynn's angular back. She jumped back so hard she ejected herself off the bed, and she cringed in pain as the jolt of hitting the floor caused pain to splay up her injured leg.

Lynn woke up from the noise, and sat up, wiping her face with one hand. She looked at Andrea, which jolted the younger girl's mind and made her face flush.

"L-last night, d-did I…" Andrea stuttered, embarrassed.

"You kissed me and passed out," Lynn said matter-of-factly. "I put you on the bed and continued exercising until I also required rest."

Andrea sat there, sprawled on the ground, her face like a cherry as the night's event flashed through her mind.

"I…I'm sorry…." Andrea murmured, looking away. "I d-didn't mean to…"

Lynn stood up and did her daily stretches.

"I know you're mad," Andrea remarked quietly. "I'll…go home, if that's what you really want."

Lynn stopped stretching. The girl was actually offering to leave? Lynn had been telling her to all along, but if she left now…

She would be alone.

"You don't have to go home," Lynn responded. The younger medic girl's face lit up with surprise and a sliver of happiness.

"W-why?" she asked.

"I…don't know," Lynn replied truthfully. "You've displayed excellent skills with what you've learned in the course of one week. Maybe I'll train you some more."

Andrea sat there, too shocked for words.

"W…why?" was all she could manage to repeat.

"Because you're a comrade."

Andrea sat there, tears starting to well in her eyes. She then burst out crying, standing up and hugging Lynn. Lynn's auto-response was to back away, but Andrea still managed to latch onto her. Lynn stood there, the unfamiliar gesture making her a little uncomfortable. She didn't, however, push the girl away.

"I'm so sorry, for everything I've done to you," Andrea sobbed into Lynn's shoulder. "The reason…that I'm with you…is because I know what it's like to be alone too…"

"Stop crying," Lynn said anxiously, still frozen in place.

"You…you weren't the only one…to grow up without p-parents…" Andrea sobbed softly. "T-they abused me and hit me…so I ran away, and I've been alone just like you…"

"Why are you telling me this?" Lynn inquired evenly.

"Because I know how it feels…" Andrea cried. "I didn't mean to burst out, but…seeing you makes me think about my life."

"Parental Abuse…" Lynn muttered. Andrea bent her arm to show a scar in an ugly angle across the middle of her arm.

"W-when I was ten, my father broke my arm because I wasn't doing what he wanted…" Andrea said into Lynn's shoulder. "You know," she said, "you're the first person to ever say something like that to me; say that I was needed."

"That's why you became a medic and studied medicine, so that people needed you," Lynn guessed. Andrea pressed into Lynn's shoulder, gripping tighter.

"I'm sorry…I guess I've always needed to do that…." Andrea trailed off.

Lynn, without even telling herself to, put her arms around the smaller girl, who lit up with surprise.

"W-why are you…" Andrea asked.

"I don't know," Lynn replied solemnly. "Maybe it's because…you've done what no one's done before."

"What…what haven't they done?"

"Try and get close."

Andrea slowly let go, though her tear-streaked face was still firmly imprinted in Lynn's shoulder. She looked up into Lynn's eyes…

Lynn saw the meek young girl look up at her, and saw lean forward towards her, closing her eyes. Lynn knew what the younger girl was going to do, yet didn't move, or stop her.

It lasted five seconds, a continuous kiss. Afterwards, as Andrea pulled away with her face flushed, Lynn was sure that the small girl definitely meant something more than a comrade. Lynn had the urge to protect the girl from whatever life threw at her.

"You said once that you'd protect me," Lynn said. "Maybe…I'll protect you too…"

Andrea wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"A pact," Lynn announced.

"I…love you…." Andrea murmured. She looked shyly at Lynn. "H…how do you f-feel about me?"

"I don't know," Lynn answered. "I've never been in this kind of situation…but you definitely aren't just another person."

"Then…can I stay by your side?" Andrea asked meekly. "To protect you?"

"…Yes," Lynn answered after a minute.

"Neither of us will be lonely any more."

Someone knocked at the door, causing Andrea to jump. A disgruntled Lynn walked over to the door, and unlocked it. She opened it up a little.

Otacon was standing there, crying with a smile on his face.

"T-that…was so romantic…" he said, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Y-you h-eard that?" Andrea exclaimed. She blushed feverishly.

"Can I come in?" Otacon asked politely. Lynn opened the door fully and let the oddball pass. "That was so cute," Otacon remarked as he sat down on the bed. "Were's the second bed? Oh well, doesn't matter." He smiled. "Sorry, I was just walking by, and I couldn't help myself from eavesdropping…anyway, I'm glad that you two are an item. It makes me remember someone I loved…Sniper Wolf."

"Why are you here?" Lynn queried.

"We're about to have a meeting to plan our attack," Otacon answered. "I just wanted to see if you two were a couple, and it looks like you are."

"'Couple?'" Lynn echoed. She did not understand the term.

"As in, she's your girlfriend…" Otacon explained exasperatedly.

"I don't like words that are used to substitute things," Lynn replied simply.

"I-um…."Andrea mumbled. "Do you…really consider me to be your…l-lover?"

"I don't know what to consider a 'lover,'" Lynn answered.

"It's someone you love, loves you back, and are engaged in a relationship with," Otacon explained.

Lynn stayed silent.

"Anyways," Otacon said, "I'm happy that you two are together. Let's go meet up with Snake and Raiden." Otacon walked out the door. Andrea went to follow, but forgot (how, she didn't know) about her bullet wound. Her leg gave out and she fell forward, but Lynn caught her.

Lynn helped her to the other room, Andrea holding on to Lynn's arm. Lynn was remarkably sturdy. Everyone was congregated in Snake's room.

Lynn and Andrea entered, and Snake shut the door behind them, locking it.

"Okay," Jack said, who was sitting on one of the two beds.

"Why are there two beds in this room and not ours?" Andrea inquired. She was ignored.

"Philanthropy is now in session," Otacon announced, sitting down on the other bed. Everyone else gathered on the floor. "As you know," Otacon continued, "I had said we were going to 'borrow' a small jet and fly it to the landing strip at the Northern Canada Forrester Weapons Complex, where we will then enter the facility."

"It's harder than it sounds," Snake put in.

"Where are we going to get this jet?" Jack asked.

"Well, obviously Pearson Airport," Otacon retorted. "And I just so happen to know where the perfect one is."

"Do tell," Snake replied.

"I just so happen to know of a jet that's being stored in a hangar until further notice," Otacon simply answered. "A little virus I put in it helped, of course."

"When did you have time to do that?" Lynn asked.

"Last night, while everyone was asleep, Snake helped me get into a public library, and I hacked into the plane from there."

Lynn had new respect for the man's computer skill.

"I'll delete the virus when we get on board, and we'll be able to fly out the hangar, down the runway, and straight to our destination," Otacon explained.

"Countermeasures will be deployed to shoot us down," Lynn remarked.

"Not with my nifty little worm," Otacon replied happily. "It'll put us on every schedule in every airport."

"When do we go?" Andrea asked meekly.

"Two days from now," Otacon replied. "We need time to get preparations done, and get supplies."

"How?" Lynn spoke up. "There's no where we can purchase the equipment we need illegally."

"Ah," Otacon replied, wagging his finger in the air, "the wonders of the internet."

Lynn fell quiet, puzzled.

-----------------------------------

The facility was unlike anything Bonavero had ever seen. The Northern Canada Weapons Complex wasn't just big, it was _super-sized_. It was easily fifteen football fields long, and equally wide. It stretched a whopping 15 stories in the air, and god knew how many below ground.

Bonavero, in his cuffs, was 'imprisoned' in some living quarters. He wouldn't exactly say he was a prisoner per se, as he wasn't chained to anything this time. He was, though, locked in the massive crew quarter area. All the exits had guards, so there was no way for him to get through, not to mention the security cameras and autoguns that constantly tracked him. He stayed away from the autoguns…those things gave him nightmares.

Ms. Forrester and her group of black-suit clad men had disappeared the moment they had entered the building, and some security escorted him to where he currently stood.

Apparently, there was some big plan that was expected to be put into effect soon, but Bonavero had no idea what. He only knew what he had heard off the guards.

The one thing that the guards had divulged was that Metal Gear Shadow was now operational, though still needing live testing to provide the data needed.

Metal Gear Shadow was definitely in the facility, but Bonavero could only guess where, the place was so huge.

The place had a population of a small city. In some ways, it was a small city, Forrester City. Complete with airport.

Bonavero had seen a few cargo jets and a single unmarked passenger jet in some open hangars as Bonavero's plane had landed. Bonavero could only imagine the wealth it took to build the place.

Bonavero inspected a wall monitor, that was displaying the time, recent news in the facility, and had the company's logo heavily imprinted. It was nothing special, just a ways to communicate throughout the immense complex. Bored, Bonavero wandered around his enclosed area.

He was playing the waiting game.

---------------------------------------

"Are your men almost ready to go?" Ocelot demanded through Gagarin's cell phone.

"Just give me two days to get them prepared," Gagarin replied. "Then, we will hit the complex."

"This is the deciding move," Ocelot warned him. "If this ends in failure, the Patriots will have our heads."

"Don't worry," Gagarin reassured him. "All in good time. Two days, that's all I ask for."

"Two days," Ocelot agreed. "No more, understood?"

"Understood."

Author's Note: I know the chapters have been short lately, please bear with. I just started school (Gr. 12) and I work, so my schedule is a little hectic.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: If you're interested, check out my website. It's  and it's mainly dedicated to gaming, mainly Halo. However, many revisions are planned for it once I get a scanner :D I can do web comics (as I plan to); and you will see the source of where Lynn and Andrea. They are my creations from another completely original story I'm working on that I'm going to serialize as a web manga. But I need a scanner first! I just started a new job, and once I get that income flowing, it's only a matter of time. 

**Chapter 16: Independence**

Weapons were bought. Preparations were made. Everything was in order on the morning of the planned theft of the private jet.

Lynn, who ended up having a driver's license (when Andrea asked why she didn't tell them before, she had replied 'you didn't ask') had gotten duty of driving the renegade crew of five to the airport that morning. Everyone was decked out in their proper gear--Lynn, Andrea, and Snake in their Stealth outfits, Otacon wearing a basic camo uniform for storing all kinds of electronic gadgets that he had insisted were needed, and Raiden in his Skull Suit (minus the nanomachines). Snake and Raiden had been forced to carry enormous packs of gear.

It was still dark out, so as the rented vehicle approached the perimeter of the airport, they left the rustic vehicle and continued on foot to the fence. A couple of fence clips later they were dashing across a large expanse of tarmac. A 787 prepared for takeoff in the distance, lining itself up for it's outbound trajectory.

Now Andrea, as we all know, had an injured leg, so it was amusing to the rest of the collective to see her ride on the much larger girl Lynn's back.

"Where's the hangar?" Snake whispered anxiously as they approached a ménage of hangars.

"Should be the second one from the left," Otacon replied in a hushed tone. He led the ragtag crew towards the hangar. The hangar door was ajar, and some tired-looking maintenance crew were busy inspecting the aircraft.

"We weren't expecting any company, were we?" Raiden asked from the back of the group. Otacon nodded to signify that it was all normal.

"Snake, give 'em a nap," Otacon whispered. Snake nodded and whisked out his brand new M9 tranquilizer; so did Lynn. Four darts fired, four crew down.

"Go," Snake commanded, and dashed into the large hangar towards it's single aerodynamic occupant. They stopped at the front wheel, Snake and Lynn looking around.

"What now?" Andrea asked. Otacon smiled and pulled out a small remote which he promptly pushed. The door of the mini-jet activated and lowered itself down for the five trespassers. They all clambered inside, and another button pressed caused the door to shut.

Otacon approached the dark cockpit and looked it over.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Raiden asked unsurely.

"Probably," Otacon replied.

"Are you sure there's fuel?" Snake asked suspiciously. Otacon glared at him for a few seconds, before Snake turned away. "There's fuel," he muttered to the rest of the group.

Otacon got himself strapped in, and inserted a disk into the dashboard. The jet hummed to life, playing some strange Japanese music that was probably from one of Otacon's animes.

"This is your captain speaking," Otacon spoke over the radio in a mock voice, "please strap yourselves in, this is going to be a mildly bumpy ride."

Taking Otacon's advice to heart, everyone sat down in their own set of two seats except for Lynn and Andrea. Lynn strapped herself in a seat near a window; Andrea nervously sat down beside her and strapped in as well.

"You shouldn't have a phobia of heights; it's illogical," Lynn said as she noticed the smaller girl shaking. The plane rumbled to life and started to nose out the hangar.

"I-know, I can't help it," Andrea whimpered in response. "At least I can sit here, that'll calm me down a little," Andrea added, blushing. Raiden shook his head in the background.

A large jet had just landed, and Otacon sped up the small jet to poke out onto the runway just as the large aircraft passed their entry point; thus giving them a nice stretch of runway to take off of.

"Hold on," Otacon said as it looked like they were going to smash right into the side of the much larger jumbo jet as it rumbled by, but they missed by quite a few meters. Some jumbled radio traffic came in, but Otacon shut the radio off and sent away his little schedule-changing virus.

"Here we go," Otacon said, turning on the jet's turbines. The jet suddenly jumped forward, slamming everyone back in their seats and making Andrea latch on to Lynn's arm. The jet shook as Otacon rammed the jet forward, wanting to get off the ground as fast as possible. Andrea whined and buried her face in Lynn's shoulder, shaking like mad. Lynn looked at her like she was some strange animal. She then turned away and ignored her comrade.

There was a feeling of vertigo as the jet lifted off, and it jerked a little from side to side from lack of stabilization. Otacon increased thrust, and it stabilized a little.

"Are you sure he knows what he's doing?" Raiden shouted from his seat, pressed into the back of his chair and fighting the G's. Snake forced his head to shake.

Three minutes later, Otacon leveled the jet out onto a nice flat trajectory.

"You may now release your seatbelts," Otacon joked over the intercom. There was a noticeable hesitation before anyone complied. Lynn was the first. Then came everyone else, and as obvious as it was, Andrea was last. She shakily undid her seatbelt, but didn't let go of Lynn.

"Why are you holding onto my arm?" Lynn asked nonchalantly as she watched clouds and ground progress by out the window.

"S-sorry," Andrea said, blushing. "D-does it bother you?"

"No," Lynn replied simply, "It's just strange that doing that eliminates your phobia."

"You're so weird sometimes," Andrea said with a smile.

"Hey, Otacon!" Snake shouted towards the cockpit, "you should see this! They're arm-in-arm!"

Some strange Japanese romantic music suddenly flowed from the intercom. Andrea blushed and laughed softly. Lynn took no notice. Snake and Raiden got a good chuckle.

It was good that they could laugh before they went somewhere were they could all spend the last minutes of their lives.

-------------------------------------------------

"All choppers ready, Sir," a Russian voice announced over Gagarin's radio. "Awaiting orders, Sir."

"Go," Gagarin replied. Suddenly, noise erupted over the radio as soldiers clambered into their respective choppers. Shouting and rotors were the ingredients to give Gagarin a splitting headache, so he turned the chopper off and decided to go take a nap.

The choppers lifted into the air, filled with soldiers anxious to get their hands on their target. They had all been briefed on the Metal Gear's description based on what the PDA had said.

Apparently, since mobility wasn't high up on the necessity list because of the integrated stealth systems, the machine was supposedly quite bulky. The legs were heavy and well-supportive of the upper mass which contained a payload of nukes, and a standard array of missiles. On the right arm was a miniature rail gun for firing nukes like what had been on Rex, and on the left an extremely powerful gattling gun that fired tank shells at five three rounds a second. The soldiers viewed it as a walking holocaust.

Which is why they were to retrieve it for the Patriots.

-----------------------------------------------

O'Brian hit Mach 3 in his stealth jet; the capsule containing Peterson safely adhered to the jet's underside.

"ETA?" came Peterson's groaning voice.

"Twenty seconds," O'Brian replied. Obrian breathed raggedly. "Ten seconds…preparing drop capsule for departure." A click reverberated throughout the supersonic jet.

"I'll see you in a few days," Peterson said.

"Five seconds."

"Haven't done this in a few years."

"Three seconds."

"Adios," Peterson said before he was cut off. The specialized drop capsule drilled through the air, stabilizing finds deploying. The capsule stopped shaking, and it's single inhabitant, who had to lie down in the coffin-sized pod, did what little he could with the controls to control the pod's rapidly decreasing speed.

A sonic boom rippled through the pods' interior as it shook violently for a few seconds. Peterson shook his head from the deafening sound. He looked in the forward monitor…

Peterson was almost thrust into the front of his capsule as anti-acceleration turbines along the outside of the pods' hull blew against its kinetic energy. Only his harness saved him from pancaking against the front.

"_Occupant ejection in ten seconds,_" an automated computer voice announced. Peterson braced himself--

--the top of the pod was blown free, and Peterson was jerked violently from the inside of his pod. The thing continued to slow it's descent to minimize its impact once it hit ground; but it would still be enough to masticate anything that's inside it.

A parachute trailed behind Peterson and stopped him from falling two miles to his destination. His clear parachute ruffled overhead as he steered the thing towards his destination.

------------------------------------------------

The jet had been flying for about an hour, and Andrea was still latched on to Lynn's arm like it was her last possession. Everyone was steeling themselves for the upcoming mission, but Andrea couldn't help but enjoy holding on to her strong boss. That's what she had come to think of Lynn as. She had made up her mind that whatever Lynn told her to do, she'd do it. No matter what.

Andrea looked up at Lynn's angular face. Andrea liked the girl's features, she was always so serious. Maybe it was that which partly made Andrea attracted to the unfeminine girl. Andrea was just so happy that she had started to melt that barrier of ice. Maybe, after this was all over, they could…

No, Andrea told herself. Thinking about the future would only distract her from what she was on her way to do. Just holding Lynn's arm was enough to make her happy. She felt so lucky that she had accidentally 'kissed' Lynn, though she had fainted afterwards. Andrea remembered as the incident passed through her mind. Lynn's warm breath heating up her nose… Andrea smiled, embarrassed, as the scene played out in her head again. She looked at Lynn, who was now looking towards the front of the cabin. Andrea then got a crazy idea.

She leaned upwards and kissed Lynn on her smooth cheek. Lynn immediately flinched her head sideways, looking at the small girl, who made a pillow out of Lynn's shoulder. Lynn continued to look at the smaller girl for a few seconds before finally going limp after staying stiff from the moment Andrea sat down beside her.

Somehow, Andrea seemed to be calming to her. Lynn found Andrea to be so innocent and pure…the complete opposite of her. Maybe that's why the two had now become closer…Opposites Attract, just like in Magnetics.

Lynn noticed Andrea's hand lying open limply in the middle of the two girls. Lynn compared her hand to the medic girls; her hand was a little larger, but with a few scars.

Andrea then grabbed Lynn's hand, holding Lynn's larger limb in her delicate grip. Lynn looked out the window.

Author's Note: Uh oh…could this be the starting of the story's Climax? Stay tuned, I can guarantee some interesting plot twists are on the way!


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: Sorry to have kept you loyal fans waiting for so long, but things have been very hectic in my life. I've now found the time to sit down and write a new chapter for my fic. Well, here it is, so enjoy!

**Chapter 17: Phosphorescence**

Tension started to heat up the cabin like fresh wood to the fire; as the jet came nearer and nearer to its destination. Lynn could see it in everyone's face. The music had stopped playing over the intercom, Jack had a slightly grim look on his face, and Lynn noticed a slight nervous shiver in Andrea.

Lynn had to admit, she was feeling a little nervous as well. Not because of the imminent danger they would all soon be in, but because of the sheer importance of their mission. Lynn had done missions many a time before, but they usually weren't on such a large scale. She was prepared for it, of course. She would sacrifice her and her teammate's lives if need be… but she felt a strange pang of emotion when she thought of Andrea being sacrificed.

No, Lynn told herself, no one would be sacrificed, not if their plan went off without a hitch.

Snake sat leaning forward, his hands clasped together and a firm look on his face. Lynn sized him up; he had been fighting a lot longer than her, and was not in danger of breaking. Otacon, though not trained in combat, was an invaluable asset, and would ensure they got into the facility without a hitch. The babysitting was well worth the trade-off. Jack, though Lynn didn't know him, she decided that he could be relied on; Snake seemed to think he was up to the task.

Andrea, though, was a potential liability. She had only a few weeks of training, and although she had learned at a considerable pace, the nervous quivering was not a good sign. Though, the girl had shown high amounts of loyalty to Lynn, which seemed to lower the risk factor.

"ETA ten minutes," Otacon said over the intercom; breaking the silence that had formed a shroud. The announcement seemed to drive the point home to the passengers, and immediately they all began checking their equipment and making sure everything was where it was supposed to be.

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Peterson laid on his stomach, the cold snow scrunched under his combat suit. He was at the precipice of a rather large snow drift, about a mile away from the Complex. All was silent, except for a slight wind that howled over nearby drifts, blowing white curls around Peterson.

Peterson took no notice of this; he had his binoculars up to his eyes. He was expressly interested in the single guard who stood nonchalantly at a side entrance. He stood wedged in the doorway, massaging his arms. _Poor bastard must be cold,_ Peterson thought. _No matter. He'll warm up in hell quick enough._ Peterson suddenly felt the large sniper rifle tapered to his back press in, like it was crying out to be used. Peterson suppressed a smile as he thought about his directive.

Slowly, as to not attract attention of the lone guard, Peterson crawled slowly over the top of the snow mound. His rifle and his outfit were nicely camouflaged with the snow, so he had to be careful that his movements didn't give him away. He snaked around smaller drifts, as he came to the border of the asphalt plane that surrounded the whole facility. Slowly, he pulled the rifle off his back, and shouldered it. He looked through the scope, suddenly making the guard's head quite large and clear. Making sure the centre crosshairs maintained contact with the guards head, Peterson's finger slowly tightened around the trigger. Then, suddenly, his finger twitched in, and there was a muffled thump as a dart streamlined through the snowy wind and made a nice entrance into the guard's neck. The guard clutched at his neck, but was already dead and falling before he reached it.

Using Potassium Cyanide darts rather than Narq darts or real bullets was something Peterson had decided on his own. He wanted the guards down and permanently silenced, but without the inconvenience of blood staining the area. It was a quick death for the targets, and was clean, or at least until an autopsy was performed. By then, Peterson would be long gone.

Quickly, like a shadow against a shadow, Peterson made a mad dash across the asphalt to the downed guard. He picked him up and dragged him back towards the snow. Up and over a snow drift, Peterson dropped him a lull and proceeded to cover him with snow.

The guard out of the way, Peterson was now left with a ticket into the facility.

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Ralph, or Raphael, as he liked to be called, was aggravated as a second unscheduled contact made its appearance on his radar. The first had appeared for a few seconds, then bugged out into the higher parts of the stratosphere. The signature had been identified as belonging to the Canadian Air Force; probably doing a routine flyby.

However, the second contact on his radar was intriguing enough to make Raphael put down his Playboy magazine. It was on a course straight for the runway, no doubt about it. He checked his schedule, to double check and see if the flight was listed. He was sure it wasn't, as Ralph made it his business to know inbound and outbound flight times by heart.

But this flight was listed, and he could've sworn it wasn't the last time he checked it earlier that morning. Suspicious, he opened up a frequency to the jet.

"Flight 557, you are on an inbound trajectory for Forrester Complex's runway, do you copy?" Ralph spoke into the mike. There was a few seconds of silence, then a reply came.

"Roger that, we have a scheduled landing," came a disgruntled voice.

"What is your identification code?" Raphael asked, a sneaking suspicion rising in his chest. There was a full minute of silence. "I repeat, what is your identification code?"

More silence.

"Ms. Forrester," Ralph said into the personal frequency, "we have a problem." More contacts appeared on the Radar, on the fringes. "A really big problem."

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"How was I supposed to know there was an identification code!" Otacon exclaimed to Snake, who had come into the cockpit. They had just started their descent.

"Should we abort?" Jack asked from the doorway that separated the cockpit from the cabin.

Snake was just about to answer, when something on the radar caught his eye.

"That's not good," Snake growled, pointing out the several dots that were approaching from west and east.

"Oh dear," Otacon sighed. He keyed the intercom. "Buckle up, kiddies! We got caught with our hand in the cookie jar!" Listening to his own advice, Otacon strapped himself in his seat. "Strap in, Snake," Otacon said, his voice quavering, as a beeping noise sounded from the control panel. Otacon's face went white.

"What now?" Snake asked, strapping in the co-pilot's seat.

"We've been locked on to," Otacon said, still ashen faced. He jerked the controls, and the jet started to climb.

"What's going on?" Lynn asked over the radio.

"Enemies, and they've got a radar lock," Otacon yelled as G forces pulled him into his seat. "They're -- Oh Jesus, they fired missiles!"

The jet suddenly became a laundry machine, as the cabin rolled around. "Shit!" Otacon cried, "I can't shake them! The missiles are going to hit!"

The last few seconds seemed to be an eternity, as Lynn took in the situation: Andrea was screaming with her arms around Lynn, Jack was braced in the cockpit doorway, and Lynn was holding on to the ceiling brace.

Then, hell struck.

A thunderous explosion rocked the plane, and ripped a hole in the back of the jet. Everything that wasn't secured flew out the hole, as the cabin suddenly became like a hurricane. Jack had instantly closed the door and shut himself in the cockpit, to prevent his unsecured body from getting sucked out.

"Girls!" Otacon's voice shrieked, as the jet lurched around as it started to rapidly drop altitude. "You still there?"

"Affirmative!" Lynn yelled, both over the intense hurricane environment and Andrea in hysteria. They were pulled against their restraints, but they were holding them down securely. "Can we still land this thing?"

"I… I don't know!" Otacon replied, as Lynn's eyes watered from the immense wind. Andrenaline was coursing through Lynn's veins as the jet plummeted.

"What hit us, anyway?" Snake grunted over the radio. "It couldn't have been them… there's no way they could respond in that short amount of time!"

"Maybe we're not the only ones after Metal Gear tonight!" Jack replied.

"You don't know how many times I've heard that," Snake muttered over the radio.

"Do we stay in this bucket, or ditch?" Jack asked.

"No 'chutes," Otacon replied exasperatedly. "We're going to have to ride this can straight into hell."

"Did I tell you I hate flying?" Jack whined.

"ANOTHER MISSILE! BRACE YOURSELVES!" Otacon yelled. Lynn feld Andreas' grip tighten.

Everything went black.

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Lynn found herself in Uganda, back when she was little. She was eight at the time; and Uganda was in the height of the local war. Peterson had sent her to bring some ammo to the local guerilla fighters. It had been raining hard that day, and her small feet sunk in the deep mud with every pounding footstep she made. Covered in mud up to her chest, her white skin completely encrusted. She was about as dark as everyone else she was with.

The man she had delivered the ammo to, a tough looking and high ranking soldier, had come tearing out of the bushes with his comrades, shouting 'RUN!' in his foreign tongue. Lynn had ran, and kept running. The soldiers dropped around her, as a hail of bullets strobed through the thick rain. Lynn kept running, and running.

She ended up coming upon a village….

But every one in it had been slaughtered. Women, children, the disabled…every one. Lynn had stopped, surveying the scene, a sickening feeling stirring in her. They were only corpses, Lynn knew that, but she couldn't help but feel utterly repulsed at the semi-decayed bodies, of people who had been brutally killed by a ruthless enemy…

Lynn no longer cared about who was chasing her. It seemed that right there, at that moment, was hell. Not hot and fiery, but a muggy, soaking wet hell. Lynn threw up, her stomach's contents mixing with the mud. She fell to her knees, devoid of strength. Tears stained her eyes, despite how much she tried to resist them. Her vision blurred, and she heard squishing footsteps and shouts behind her. A shot fired, and Lynn felt something hot and hard penetrate her lower back, and she toppled into the mud, face first. A pain like nothing ever before spread through her, and the wet, green jungle seemed to start losing focus. She could hear someone calling her name…. a girl, with a worried and soft voice, like she was far away and yelling down a tunnel. Lynn knew she was dying… the mud seemed to be nudging her shoulder, but she could no longer feel it…..

"--Lynn!" Andrea's voice shrieked. Lynn snapped to, a hand snapping to her lower back, where a scar she received long ago was burning. Eyes full of moisture, it took her a moment to remember where she was--

--and realized the plane was no longer airborne. Dangling limply in her harness, Lynn realized the plane was pointing downwards at a 45 degree angle. Lynn's vision returned to her, and so did an immense wave of pain from her left leg. Looking over, she saw a jagged piece of the chair next to her stuck in her leg, hidden from view from the rest of the team.

Lynn banished the pain, and still half-unconscious, haphazardly tried to undo her harness.

"She's okay!" Andrea announced, relief dominating her voice. She fumbled with Lynn's harness, and Lynn toppled out and into Andrea, who was supporting herself on the previous row of seats.

"You took a hit to the head," Snake explained through Lynn's haze. Lynn freed herself from Andrea's gentle grasp and tried to stand on the half-vertical floor. She stumbled, but caught herself on a seat. She heard Andrea gasp.

Lynn felt her leg for the piece of metal, and tugged it out, ignoring the small spurt of blood that issued from the wound. Andrea was on it in an instant. She cut a small portion of Lynn's suit away around the wound, where she then proceeded to clean it and bandage it. She looked like she was going to throw up the whole time. She stood up.

"Are y-you okay?" Andrea asked. Lynn remained silent, because her stomach was threatening to heave from her injuries. Andrea hugged Lynn lightly. "You had me worried…"

"Is there any fatalities?" Lynn asked.

"No, I think you got the worst of it," Snake replied. He looked slightly ruffled and had a hell of a lot of scratches--and a bruise above his left eye.

"How close are we….to the facility?" Lynn inquired.

"Couple miles," Snake guessed. "We're going to hump it the rest of the way there." He turned and left through a gaping hole, landing with a soft thud on the snow outside. Now it was just Lynn and Andrea left in the jet.

"Lynn…." Andrea said, a worried expression on her scratched face.

"What?" Lynn replied, still feeling the scar on her lower back.

"No one else saw but…. You had tears coming out of your eyes," Andrea whispered softly. "You were crying before you woke up…."

She had been, and Lynn wasn't going to deny it. Especially with the sincere tone in the girl's voice. Lynn half expected her to ask what she had been crying about, but the girl stayed silent.

Lynn herself didn't know why she had cried either… but the dream had brought the memory of Uganda ten years ago back to her, refreshed and burning. She still had remnants of the sickening feeling in her gut… but from what? She had received no abdominal injuries…Could it have been remnants from the dream?

But why, of all things, did she have that memory come back to her? At that time and place, as well? She had almost forgotten her time in Uganda. But for some reason, here she was, the events of that horrible time bright as day.

Lynn looked into Andrea's eyes, who was looking back with a worried expression. Was it because of her? Was it because of Andrea that Lynn had remembered that village? Lynn couldn't clear her mind of that haunting picture, of half-decayed bodies staring upwards…

Lynn suddenly felt more removed from society than she ever had. She almost cringed as Andrea gingerly laid a hand on Lynn's shoulder. Andrea noticed the slight flinch, and she drew her hand back, looking offended. Lynn made no excuse, she just sat there, looking downwards to the front of the plane.

Lynn suddenly felt Andrea wrap her arms around Lynn's head. Lynn didn't move, the embrace nudging the memory of Uganda out of her head. It shattered the feeling of separation from society, and Lynn knew, at that moment, that Andrea would do anything for her, even sacrifice herself if needed. She suddenly understood that Andrea derived courage from her will to protect Lynn. Warmth from Andrea's body made the scar's heat dissipate. The pain from her leg seemed to disappear too… it was like the girl's mere touch was healing her. She reached upwards, not knowing what she was going to do--

--when suddenly, the two girls were surrounded by men. Men with guns. All pointed at Lynn and Andrea. Streaming through the holes in the plane, Lynn rose up, but realized that they did't stand a chance, especially with Lynn still dizzy and disoriented. Andrea whimpered and fell onto the floor, sliding a couple feet before Lynn caught her.

"Where's the others?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Blown out and killed by the missile," Lynn lied. The others must've escaped, but this presented an opportunity for Snake and the rest to infiltrate, believed to be dead….but at the sacrifice of Lynn and Andrea.

Well, I hope the new chapters given you a lot to think about!! Give me rave reviews if you like how the story's developing… This is my best story ever!!!


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